When I was a teen I struggled with doubts over my salvation. Actually, struggled would be an understatement. For over a year I was plagued by this question, wrestled with it daily, and could find no peace.
I had prayed and asked Christ to save me in sixth grade, but in high school I was still tortured by doubts. I wasn’t sure If I had meant it, wasn’t sure if I had enough faith, wasn’t sure if I could be sure.
Pastors would ask if I “knew that I knew that I knew I was saved” and I would just think, no, I don’t. I must’ve prayed just-in-case prayers (where you ask God to save you again just in case you hadn’t really meant it the last time) about a hundred times – and I sincerely meant them each time. But they didn’t help.
The questions kept raging. What if I didn’t have enough faith? If I have doubts doesn’t that mean I don’t have enough faith? Will I ever be sure?
I asked counsel and listened to sermons and lessons, but it just wasn’t helping. Our Bible lessons on how to know you’re saved left me with more questions than I started with. The talk with my mom encouraged me for one day but left me questioning again the next.
I was really struggling, and I eventually started to sense that these doubts were an attack by Satan, meant to cripple my faith. And his attack was working because, although I was beginning to believe these doubts were unfounded, I still couldn’t banish them.
Until I turned to the Bible.
I started writing down verses that discussed salvation – verses such as Romans 10:13 “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” and Acts 16:31 “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.” I created an ever-growing list of verses such as these and started to claim God’s promises.
Whenever doubts would assail me, I would get out my list and start reading. I would read Romans 10:13 and remind myself that I had called up the name of the Lord so I was saved. I would read Acts 16:31 and remind myself that God does not lie, so if I believe on Jesus I am saved. As I read and claimed these verses, I would find peace.
The doubts did not go away overnight, but they started to become fewer and farther between. Soon I was going days without doubts then weeks and finally months. I can’t pinpoint a specific time when I stopped doubting, but I praise the Lord that I haven’t doubted His saving work in my life for years.
When I was struggling with my doubts I felt so alone, but since then I have realized that many Christians experience similar challenges. We need to help each other work through our doubts and find peace in God’s promises. So if you’re counseling someone struggling with doubts over their salvation (or if you need help in this area yourself), here’s the key:
Ask this question: “Have you repented, believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, and asked Him to save you?” Don’t make it more complicated than it is. The question is simple.
- If the answer is no or I’m not sure, then don’t mess around. You need to settle the question today. Romans 10:9 makes it simple: “If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” Don’t overcomplicate salvation. You don’t need incredible faith or to know the answers to every doctrinal question. You simply need to acknowledge that you are a sinner and deserve death but that Christ died to take your penalty and that He rose again and offers salvation as a gift. Repent of your sins, choose to follow Christ, confess that Jesus is Lord and that you need His salvation, and He will save you.
- If the answer is yes, then claim God’s promises. God has promised that if you believe on His Son, He will save you. Ephesians 2:8-9 states, “For by grace ye are saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast.” Your salvation is not determined by your good works or even by the amount of your faith. These verses say that even your faith is not of yourself. God is the one who saves you, so if you have repented and trusted in Him and then doubt your salvation, you are actually doubting whether or not God keeps His promises. We know God is faithful, so claim His promises. Create a list of Scripture and cling to them every time you are uncertain
Claiming God’s Promises
Here are some of the verses that helped me. Add to these as you come across other Scriptures that reaffirm God’s promise of salvation.
- John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
- John 20:31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.
- Acts 16:31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.
- Romans 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
- Romans 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
- Ephesians 2:8-9: For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.
- Titus 1:2 In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began.
- Titus 3:5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
- I John 4:15 Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.
- I John 5:13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.
What About Evidence of Salvation?
One final thought: Scripture is clear that if we are Christ’s there will be evidence of God’s work in our lives. However, when examining this aspect, we need to 1) involve others and 2) take a big-picture view. This means, rather than looking at the sin you committed yesterday and saying “I don’t know if I’m saved,” look at a broader span of time and ask yourself, “Am I closer to Christ now than I was 5 years ago? Is there more evidence of the fruit of the Spirit in my life now than there was 5 years ago?”
Better yet, don’t just ask yourself these questions. Ask a trusted friend or spiritual mentor. Sometimes we struggle to see the growth in our own lives but others close to us see it more clearly and would be able to encourage us – or, if need be, point out the lack of growth.
If there is a complete lack of growth, then it comes back to the same question – Have you repented and believed on Jesus, trusting Him alone? If not, choose to do so today.
If you struggled with doubts over your salvation, share your testimony in the comments. Those who are still struggling can use all the encouragement we can offer.
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I also struggled with this for many years. I think kids who are raised in Christian homes fight this. We never have the dynamic testimony were we turn from a life of horrible sin. It is Satan’s way keeping us from the joy of our salvation.
That is so true! I was raised in church all of my life, and both of my parents taught Sunday school and my dad was a preacher. It’s very difficult when you hear people speak about the Lord delivering them from drugs, addictions, etc. and you’re like, “Well I got saved in Bible School.” Glad someone else understands!
Thank you for telling us about this! This has been me, too! I was raised going to church every time the door was open. I went to a Baptist church and was very sheltered. I memorized scriptures and “knew” the Word. I struggled, like you did, after I asked the Lord into my heart. I prayed the “just in case” prayer many, many times! It wasn’t until I realized that I was saved….but that I didn’t have a “real” relationship with Jesus that things finally began to make sense to me. Blessings!!
I’m only 15 years old and have been struggling for 2 or three years with my faith. I’ve been raised in a baptist Christian home and I went to awana and memorized all the verses and know all the info. But I still struggle with the doubt and keep praying the just in case prayer. Its so encouraging to see that I am not the only one.
I’m 14 years old and I was saved at 10 years old and I hadn’t started doubting my salvation since I was saved up until about a month ago . When I finally relized that I had been truly been saved I still couldn’t get the doubts out of my head . This really helped me !!!
I’m a teen and I feel the same please pray for me to stop doubting. God bless!
Same here but as I read these comments I see more and more the works of the Devil. I noticed is everyone raised in a Christian home, for example growing up it was always said its the Pastor children that was the worst. It seems to me satan attack them harder. In the Bible Jesus told Peter satan has desired to shift you like wheat but I pray that you dont lose faith! He didnt say I told him no dont do it. He saying dont lose faith in Me. satan will get in our heads to keep us condemned he is the accuser. I telling you this currently in the same struggle as you. But I will never give up. I am afraid but i will never give up
I am growing up in a Christian home, and we attend church regularly. A couple years ago this dread set into me about getting saved. I always thought “if I died right now, I would go to hell.” This worried me and nagged at my heart. I prayed and prayed begging and asking God for forgiveness and to save my soul. The feeling went away but recently it has came back. I worry that I’m not saved and I keep praying asking for salvation. I’ve been listening to messages on salvation and asking God to deal with my heart. Its feels likes he isn’t there, but I know he is. I’ve prayed to be forgiven of my sins, and I DO believe the bible. I don’t understand it completly, but i have faith in it. I ask him to come into my heart. I dont know how many times I have prayed this prayer. I never get that “feeling” your supposed to get. Like that spark or the sense of weights being lifted off. Then I began reading and I’ve read in some places that salvation has to be public, since Jesus died for us publicly. I pray and beg God for salvation on my knees in my bedroom, sometimes on the church Pew. Does it not count if its not at a later or done publicly? I’m so confused and worried.
It does not matter whether you repent publicly or privately. You get saved when you repent, wherever it is.
Praying! Don’t let the devil rob you of your joy.
I hear you. I’m not sure when you posted this comment, but I too have been struggling with my faith for years. Since I was in the sixth grade I struggled with God’s existence, Jesus being the son of God, and now since I’ve asked God to save me I have been doubting my salvation. All of these are attacks by Satan. I am still struggling but I know I will come through stronger than ever and you will too. May God bless you.
Thank you so much for sharing this. I’ve been having doubts in the back of my mind for months on end, and tonight I finally decided to deal with it up front. I tossed and turned as I prayed and asked God to show me what going on, and if I was lost. I did this for nearly an hour, and then I decided to read my bible and after I read for a chapter in Luke, I prayed some more, begging God to show me if I was saved. Then I decided to search “I’m confused about my salvation” and I stumbled upon this blog post, and my. What an eye opener. I have realized that it’s been so long since I’ve had an actual relationship with Christ, that I began to doubt. I too was born and raised in the baptist church, and I still am baptist. And my dad is a preacher, so of course I have that clean slate testimony. But I do remember when Christ saved me. And I’m blessed to know that I’m saved, and that I just need to fix my relationship with God. ?
We have the duty of guarding our hearts and minds in Jesus, by fixing our eyes on Him and growing in the knowledge of His Word each day. Being in the flesh, we are weak and the devil is constantly after us. So, pursue the Word, trust God, for He is good, loving and faithful – He never lets His sheep go astray. We always have that confidence in Him. So let’s not be slack in exercising that confidence!
May the Lord bless y’all 🙂
How did you start your relationship with Jesus ? Because this is me I think I am saved I’m pretty sure after what I just read especially but I’ve had many problems to many to mention but I don’t think I have a real relationship with Jesus either how did you get started ?
romans 10:9-10
Baptist Church. Keep going back. You’ll get it..God bless
Amen! I was saved in a Pentacostal church in Australia, but now attend a Baptist church. God Bless the Baptists!
the best way to start a relationship with God is to just love people the way Jesus did. As you grow , God will grow with you .
Could you explain what you meant in the last sentence please?
I still struggle with this sin every day of not knowing if God truly can save a sinner like me because I keep sending and I can’t stop but I believe in Jesus Christ died on the cross for my sins. I’m a Christian but I lack control and I know I send I drink beer I have sexual desires and needs but I’m getting better at Phil but these convictions I know their convictions cuz they make me feel guilty so I keep trying to stick to the word and hopefully I grow and grow more into my Christian faith but I’ve always loved Jesus Christ I just feel like it’s such a disappointment to him why save a sinner like me I feel like I’m abusing that he died on the cross for my sins and I you keep sending me and I don’t mean for that but that’s how I feel like I’m what I’m doing
God saves just trust Jesus if you have trusted him no matter what he never leaves you. Ask him to continue to do work in your the Spirit is moving in you from what it sounds like and when you have the Spirit you are sealed and saved my brother praying for you
You must remember that God made us sexual being so when these desires would come I would ask God to help me because I did not have a husband and I would fast and pray. Walk according to the spirit not the flesh .
Same here your not alone! Thank you for sharing that. Email me we can help each other grow. marlincrawford44@gmail.com
If you never obtained a real relationship with God would you still be saved? I have a family member you is taking a scripture in Mathew way out of context. She believes salvation can be lost…..
No! Emphatically NO! Once you are saved you cannot be unsaved. JESUS does the saving…we just accept Him as our Lord and ask Him to forgive us of our sins. Think of it like this….if we could DO something to undo what Jesus has done for us…it would make us more powerful than God! That my friend is impossible! So salvation is a sure unchangeable thing!
Thank you for your response… it was beautifully said!
Once you are saved it is true you can not be unsaved however you can be a false convert…I was just that for 19 years I claimed salvation and when I look back at that time I was clearly not saved…it was through the movie Atheist Delusion by Ray Comfort that God showed me I wasn’t saved, what a scary place to be…however because I was deceived for so long, I question my salvation now even more, and I do the just in case prayers too…I worry I could be a wolf in sheep’s clothing, however The Lord is faithful and when I start to panic I find a blog like this or my pastor saying from the pulpit “if you are doubting your salvation then you are saved” it was God speaking through him right to me, at least that is what it felt like. God is not a God of confusion so when we feel doubtful and confused it is most likely Satan trying to steal our joy in Gods promises to us. Draw near to Him and He will draw near to you. James 4:7-8 Romans 10:8-13, John 10 :27-30 Praying for you my brothers and sisters in His love.
I’ve been struggling with my salvation for the past 2 years. So many people claim that after they ask to be saved, they can feel it. I don’t. I have been so confused. I used to cry every night and I was so worried. I am still doubtful, because I don’t know if I should feel anything after I ask. The truth is, I know that I believe in God. I love him so much, but I feel like he has declined me everytime I ask because I never feel different. I just wish I could feel something to know if I am saved. That is truely the thing I wish for most in the world. Has anyone else had this problem, or is it just me?
I have had doubts about assurance of salvation as well. I still desire to have that deep settled peace about it. I want to be secure in Jesus, to sense that security. I think what may help is to develop trust in God and looking to Christ and what he did on the cross rather than looking to ourselves or for something inside us for assurance. When we look to ourselves for assurance we may see our shortcomings, sins, or times our faith wavered or doubts. Or by looking to self one may become proud and self-righteous because of seeing all the good, successes and achievements and whatnot. By looking to Jesus however we are hoping in his mercy and grace.
Yes, I have I found this site because I have this fear that has been sticking around. I sin and I sin struggling with lust. And i feel bad I ask forgiveness so much I started to think maybe I am not really saved. The doubt is heavy everyone but me believe I am saved. I keep picture going to heaven and God saying I never knew you. Crushing but this post is helping big time to see so many ppl struggling the same lets me know this is the Devil. Christ died for ALL OUR SINS. He told us he is faithful to forgive if we confess
I know exactly what you are going through. I get this nagging sense of dread that won’t go away. A couple years ago, I first prayed to be saved. I meant it too. I didn’t get that overwhelming sense of peace or the “spark.” Still the nagging went away, but now it is back. I have prayed the ABC prayer over and over. Cried over my bible, and listened to salvation messages by Billy Graham. I feel no different. I pray that I am a sinner and repent of my sins, I have faith that Jesus died on the crosd for us and arose 3 days later. I pray to accept him into my heart. But yet, I feel no different. I pray these prayers on my knees in my bedroom or in the pew at church. I never go to the alter, does it still count if its not at the alter? I’m just confused and worried. In the bible it says whoever calls upon the name of the lord shall be saved. And I did call upon him, I just dont “feel” saved.
Many are the affliction of the righteous but it is the lord that delivers us from them all. We do not have to feel it. Faith is not feeling,it is a knowing based on God’s words no matter what we feel. So just rest in his words and rest then move closer to God by personal walk. I believe the devil wants to rob us of enjoying God on earth. Let us not forget the devil raises arguments against God in our hearts 2cor 10;14-15. We have to say no . God be with us all to the end, amen .
Every Day brother, I feel the same way you do, but as I have been reading this and many other posts I have noticed something, salvation is not a feeling, I too always thought that I would feel different, or know beyond a shadow of doubt that I was saved, that feeling never came, I have been so focused on obtaining that feeling that some people have that I did not stop to realize that it is all right there in the Bible, saving faith is what makes you saved, not a feeling, believe me I want that feeling just like you do, but not everyone is saved that way, the Bible does not say that you are saved if you feel like you are saved, it says you are saved if you believe on the lord Jesus Christ, He is what saves you, by faith in him, I like you have been tormented for months on end praying, begging God to save me and until just now I never really understood it, Salvation is by Faith on Jesus that he will do what he said he will do, And just now I understand that I am saved by his grace, I plan on reading through this article again and again every time I have a doubt until all doubt has been replaced with joy and I have a true walk with my Lord and Savior……… Prayers for you…….
A.O. I thankful for reading that I am not the only one that had doubts about my salvation, I been saved for years, but felt that I haven’t grown as others in my church have,. I want more of the fruit of the spirits like to show more love.thanks for showing me that trust God to give me what I need
Hello, please know that Jesus loves you very much and faith is not the same as feelings. What we feel is constantly changing and fickle, but his salvation is permanent and forever. Please keep praying to Jesus and reading the word of God. Please know that He loves you as you are, regardless of what you feel. This article: http://www.lucasanswers.com/2018/01/how-to-stop-doubting-your-salvation.html?m=1
I found is a great read. Please check it out and if the link doesn’t work, please look up “Lucas answers how to stop doubting your salvation”
I am surprised Linda did not respond to this. As she keeps saying, do not depend on feelings. If you really gave/give your life to the Lord, then depend in His promises.
Yes 🙂
You are NOT alone! You just described me!
Jim
I feel like I might be a false convert. God has not been answering me and my heart feels dead. I feel like I might be past the point of no return. There are times that I have peace but it feels like false peace. I feel handed over and I can’t feel love. I don’t know if I have committed the unpardonable sin (I’m afraid I might have) at one point but I keep praying and asking for help. I don’t want to be a prey for the enemy. I know what Christ has done for me but my heart will not respond! I need lots of prayer. Please pray.
I’m struggling with the same fears Kyle.
My brother was saved at 12 yrs old. Got married (35 yrs), unknowingly joined a cult. After 17 yrs. Realized his mistake and left. But his family of wife and 6 kids stayed in. She commented to him; “why don’t you go out and commit a really big sin so you have something to repent about”. She threatened divorce if he didnt return to cult which she carried out. He chose Jesus over his own family. Praise God, hes in Heaven sense 2014. Don’t worry about what people think. Affix upon Jesus.
Thanks for sharing. I totally agree.
I agree.
Oh, you are so right! My daughter believed at VERY young age and today she is 15 and struggles with the fact that she doesn’t have “a story” to tell. I’ve told her, that is a good thing, not bad. God is good and through his mercy, He knew you did not have to overcome adversities to be one of His children. We are still working on this. Thank you for leaving your comment.
Your absolutely right. I was raised in a home with my dad a pastor and very faithful and God loving mother. And I know for a fact I have except Jesus Christ as my Lord and savior When I was in middle school. And I catch myself wondering on and on about if it was true or if meant it. This helped me a lot and the verses do too. I know I’m saved and I know I’m going to heaven but sometimes I get in a slump and become easily effected by the voices of doubt in my head. But I just pray through them and shut them out and ask God to take my doubt and send somewhere I can’t even hear or feel it anymore.
I also have had many fears and doubts off and on about my salvation. I somehow came to this conclusion to believe in Christ Jesus no matter what the enemy was feeding my mind, I believe that Jesus died for me , and took my place on the cross, and He now sits at the right hand of God interceding on my behalf. Continue to pray my strength in our Lord Jesus.
Yes, I asked Jesus to save me and come into my life when I was nine years old and have gone through times of doubts since I was about 16. It makes me feel ashamed and of course that’s exactly what the devil wants. The times that I have claimed God’s promises and rested in His love have brought healing. I will press on claiming His promises because HE is faithful!!!
I wanna be saved , In church when I hear the pastor say ” why wait , what’s your excuse , jesus is coming & you need to be ready”. I love the Lord . But, I hold back everytime. Lord HELP ME!
If you’re still struggling, I encourage you to reach out and speak with someone you trust about your struggles.
Hi Linda
I am Alta McNally. Please see my comments/struggles and respond on my email please amcnally@nust.na
I say I might sound crazy but I’d rather sound crazy and be saved
Remember you can be saved anywhere
Exactly!
I also walked through this. And still do to a degree. My father has been a pastor for almost 30 years. I’m 32 now. I got saved when I was 6. And the questions of “how much could I possibly have meant that at that age? I didn’t even really know what I was saying.” I never had the testimony of a radical change in my life. I was 6. Honestly I can’t even remember much about the way I was before I was 6. Doubt always crept into my mind. It drove me insane all through school. When I was 16 I had enough and at the end of a church service went to the altar and cried and begged God to 1) save me if I wasn’t and 2) If I was to make the doubt go away. I still struggle with it from time to time. I think Satan wants to keep us from joy any way he can. But God’s truth is eternal. What was true when the Bible was written will always and forever be true. I confessed with my mouth Jesus Christ is Lord. He is my savior and nothing can change that.
It can be hard when we start believing at such a young age. Someone once gave this analogy and I found it helpful: They said, if you were to ask me how I know I am alive I wouldn’t tell you about my birth. I would say that I know I am alive because I am breathing and talking to you. I am clearly alive, so I know I must’ve been born at some point, even though I cannot remember that. In much the same way, those of us who believed at such an early age may not have strong memories of our spiritual birth, but if we know the Spirit of God lives in us, if we know He lives and breathes and works in us, then that’s proof that we truly are alive.
I was very young and attending Bible School with a friend when I learned I needed to “be saved”. I remember wanting to go forward, but afraid my ride would not want to stay to wait for me. The next pm the teacher taught on the flood and the next time God would destroy the world by fire and we needed to belong to him and be saved. She said if we wanted to be saved to stay in our seats and if not to go to the craft room. I remember being shocked when a girl got up and left. I can’t remember much of what the teacher then said to us, but while she prayed, I was thinking we need to tell our mothers about this big step in our lives ! No one counseled with me individually which later left me vulnerable to doubts- I can’t remember for sure actually praying myself or how much I understood. I know I believed I was saved! My mama was afraid I might not have been ready and took me down the aisle at my church and there my pastor read through the scriptures and asked me if I believed and I said yes. He presented me for baptism. Later I came across the word repentance and I began to worry, did I know how to repent back then? Did I pray or the preacher pray? I have prayed that “just in case prayer” and read my Bible daily and know Christ has worked in my life so many times. I have taught SS and VBS for over 30 years. I have led others in the sinners prayer. I went forward as a young adult and told the preacher that I was plagued with doubts and he had his wife pray with me. She said I couldn’t go back and had me to pray the sinner’s prayer right there and confess my sins so I could be sure I had accepted Christ. I felt relief, but later I would have doubt again. When was I saved? At VBS, my home church when my mama led me down the alter, as the doubting adult? I know I have felt The Lord in my life, so why am I so fearful? I feel like it is Satan trying to break me. I have not lived a perfect life but I know I love the Lord. I know He is faithful. Thank you for this post. Please pray for me to have the peace that isn’t here when I have times if doubt.
I feel the exact same way. When I was 12 and about to move up to high school my soon-to-be-teacher took me into a little room at my school to talk with me the way she had the other students and then she asked me if I was saved and I told her I wasnt. She asked me why and I t old her that I wasn’t really sure why, and she told me that if I felt like I wanted to get saved that day then to just tell her at any time and she’d help me, but she would talk to me again Monday about. As I went back to class i knew that I wanted to be saved but I didn’t want to have to walk back in front of all my peers so I left that day without speaking to her. At church Sunday I felt like I was under conviction but didn’t go to the altar cause I was afraid of what everyone would think of me. Monday when my teacher came and got me again she said she could see how under conviction I was Sunday night,and asked me if I wanted to be saved. I said yes and repeated the prayer she told me to pray. Afterwards I told my principle and my parents and I really did feel happy or at peace, but about three years later in a special meeting I began to doubt. I prayed with another teacher and my youth leader about it and didn’t doubt for a while I’m17 now and the doubts have become twice as bad.I talked to my mom about it once and she said it was the devil trying to steal the joy of my salvation.o had started reading through John and I came to the part where Mary washes Jesus feet with her hair and Judas rebukes her for using that expensive stuff instead of giving it to the poor and then Jesus looks at him and says “Let her alone” and I felt like he was right beside me telling the devil to leave me alone. I felt fine for several months and then I fell into sin and when I got out i felt like the Lord has just abandoned me if he was every really he re at all and I began wonder whether i really meant what I prayed when I got saved or if because I didn’t really give up my pride did He really save me and then I began to wonder if he’s ever really spoken to me before or if its the devil just trying to trick me. I have prayed with several people and I feel like this article has really helped but I still really need God’s help please pray.
I will be praying for you Jesus loves you and I do too I’m also 17 and if you need to talk to someone you can talk to me at my email wilsonlucky910@gmail.com
God bless you prayers
I totally agree. I’m being raised in a Christian home, which I’m so incredibly blessed with. But being saved young and not having evidence of a life transformation from sins like drinking,drugs, ect ect, it can be difficult to see the change, even when we can feel it.
Thank you. Sometimes I feel so close to God that I can’t imagine why I have doubts at other times!
This is something I am currently struggling with. I am a young teen, definitely FULL of doubts. And I overthink way too much. This was really encouraging cause it didn’t just talk about the struggle but about the solution and the “how.” Thank you for writing this!
I’m a teen too be praying for you. I doubt so much too I over think it so much I think. God bless you!
you are 100% right
Yes you are exactly right. I have never thought about it like that. I really appreciate what you said!
Yes. This happened to me as well. I trusted Christ as my Savior when I was very young., and have struggled with this off and on. The enemies way of keeping us useless. Thank you for sharing this. It is very helpful. God bless!
Excellent post! Excellent! God’s word provides the objective evidence of our salvation. People who look for a “feeling” that they are saved are building a shaky foundation on sand. God’s word is the bedrock of truth. Build on that, and you will find peace!
Thank you for this comment.
Thank you for this. I was not feeling the peace or joy of God like I once did when i first gave my heart to the Lord. I have sinned in many areas since then, came back to repentance but this time I thought maybe I wasn’t truly repentant enough or I didn’t have enough faith so I was on the verge of torment but i knew i didnt want to live like that but what do you do when that happens? I thought I had to accept the torment but now I know this is a battle with the enemy. Thank you for your testimony. Everyone’s testimony here. It has greatly helped me.
Wow! You took the words right out of my mouth! Same exact story! I became a born again Christian at a very young age too. I always believed & I had an amazing relationship with the Lord, BUT as I got older I fell in with the wrong crowd -and then sin, sin, sin, -even though I NEVER stopped believing in Him, which in turn had me thoroughly convinced, was FAR worse than had I been a sinner who never knew Him, so I became basically unforgivable in my own mind often times. I have returned to the Lord fully for MANY, MANY, years now, but the relationship is just is not the same as it once had been & I have thought and felt that it must be my punishment too. I did almost everything I could think of to try to rectify this myself & ended up not knowing what else to do. Soooo, in missing the relationship that I once had, I began to doubt His forgiveness for someone like myself completely, but THIS here has definitely helped me during one of my roller coaster rides of ‘He forgives me, He does not forgive me’ moments, that I have been experiencing on & off for years now – even though I knew all of what has been stated here myself, hearing it again from other believers was exactly what I needed. I apparently have more work to do (not works, but relationship-wise & as far as remembering who this doubt is really coming from) bc after all it does say in Ephesians 6:12
‘For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.’
and it IS a constant battle for all of us, it’s just that sometimes even we as Christians can forget just how much power and/or how evil and cunning our enemy, truly is. BUT our God has far more power though – and so do we when we fully accept it, so allowing the enemy to cause us doubt is one of the worst things we can do. NO MORE! Thank you ALL for this! -It was EXACTLY what I needed WHEN I needed it! PRAISE GOD!
What do you mean by people who look for a feeling?
If we base our security on how we feel (that is, do I “feel” saved), then that is shaky ground. Our feelings change & cannot be relied upon. We must base our security on God & His promises.
I’m 19. I got saved when I was six. I was raised in a Christian home, so Jesus was a daily topic. I was young, so I wasn’t out partying, drugs, etc. I didn’t feel a big “burden” lifted when Jesus saved me. But I know it was real. The devil will use that to fool you and make you miserable! I have held to my testimony for comfort that what I have is real…no matter how Satan tries to attack!
Within a week after I got saved, I had a dream. I was at my school, and a wicked snake was coming towards me. I called “Jesus!” and then I saw the Lord come down and cut off the snake’s head. People now may call it corny or stupid, but praise Jesus for that dream!! It is assurance for me!
When I was 11, I witnessed to my cousin who was 7. He had a horrible home life, and I knew he wasn’t saved. We got to talking about salvation, and he told me he wanted to be saved. He prayed a prayer and invited Jesus into his heart in my grandfather’s barn. He went home and got baptized (his grandmother took him), and he’s 15 now. I must say I’m so proud of him for still being a strong Christian!
At churches I went to, I started a Wednesday night class for kids. Two kids got saved as a result. That may not sound like much, but all that happened before I turned 16. So don’t tell me you’re too young to serve the Lord! When I was 16, I rededicated my life to the Lord, because I felt I had grown so much as a Christian, I needed to “nail things down”.
You would think with a dream like that and the witnessing I had done, I should never doubt my salvation! But unfortunately, I did. From the time I turned 17, I had major problems with it. But it’s all my own fault. I wasn’t reading my Bible anymore, fallen out of church, and letting sin in my life that shouldn’t have been there. My joyous attitude in life and, unfortunately, my assurance in my salvation, had all went away.
But now I’ve repented, and I knew I had quenched the Spirit. So it took a while for me to feel what I’d felt again. Now I’m reading my Bible, praying like I should, and focusing on God. I even keep a journal now of my walk with God…which is helping me tremendously!
One thing I would like to add to this post: you can testify. Like now, I’m writing my testimony in this comment, and I’m testifying! Sometimes we just need to be reminded of how God has used us and what he has done in our life! Ten minutes ago, I was miserable, but now I feel renewed!
I’ve had the devil on my back for so long, but now, I feel like I could fly to Heaven and hug Jesus!! This is what I needed! Thanks for the post!
Thanks for sharing!
Kaylin, thank you for your testimony. I have a five year old who wants to be baptized and I have doubts about here realizing what it truly means and encompasses, due to her attitude towards others and her meanness that comes out so strongly. I be
I’ve it has to be in your heart to have the want to be baptized, not something for show or attention. Reading that you were baptized at six helped me remember that even at a young age a child can have that want/need to be baptized within them. I’m the only Christian in my family and am doing my best to teach my children about God and Jesus, very hard and very lonely when your husband doesn’t share the same beliefs in this area of the marriage. You helped remind me that even the young can do great things for the kingdom of God.
thank for shareing
THANK YOU.
Ty!! What a great testimony. God bless you!!
Identical story to yours, thank you for saving me from typing again lol! PRAISE GOD! And Thank God for the ability to have Church whenever we are with other believers, wherever they may be! ?
I am a mother your story is much like my son! He just turned 18 so many negative things began to happen in his life he began to doubt even God began to use drugs?and was killed in a car accident! I know he was saved at a young age he frequently ask people if they knew Jesus and whiteness at a young age as a child he was so good and wise almost unbelievable far above what you can imagine people were amazed At him. They say he died instantly I don’t know that for sure I don’t know if you had time to repent I don’t understand my heart is so heavy I tried to help him but he had depression I pray God have mercy on him and me?
Back when I was ten I thought I got saved on July 15th and that was my papas birthday, but I had doubts every now and then and the. This summer it hit me, I had dreams, would cry in my prayers thinking I was lost and I talked to our pastor we prayed he brought me to salvation. It didn’t feel the same though, I’m still struggling and even after being (re)saved and (re)baptized I still doubt and have trouble controlling my mouth and other temtations and I’m really confused and I’m trying to walk closer to god. I’m 15 now and sometimes I get the feeling of emptiness and I know only scripture and God can fill that but I find myself slacking and not reading, and only praying at night and I feel terrible spiritually…
Don’t give up. This is two years later, but if you are still struggling, don’t give up. Ask God for help faithfully and he will provide it for you.
And then* not and the.
I am 34 years old…was saved when I was 17, fell into a life of drugs shortly after. I was raised in an Independent Fundamental Baptist Church where the gospel was preached and I absolutely believe everything the bible says….and yet I am doubting my salvation. This blog has encouraged me and I am thankful for it. A preachers wife said to me recently, “I think we sometimes make salvation too hard.” She said ask yourself three things. 1. Were you convicted, 2. Did you repent? 3. And did you call? ( meaning did you call on the Lord to save you)
If the answers are yes…then stand on Gods word and claim it!!!
Thank you Kristin for this! I have doubted so much since I first saw myself a sinner and called on the Lord at 14. I am now 23 and after years of struggling with doubts and praying the “just in case” prayers I am weary from it all. Those 3 points really got across to me just now! Thank you so much for allowing the Lord to use you by responding to this blog post 🙂 It was truly a blessing to me!
Thanks Kristin. I didn’t grow up in a Christian home but I came to Christ at age 19 as a broken single mom of 1. Doubts have come off and on. But, the battle with doubt is so strong sometimes it exhausts me. I appreciate prayers .
Thank you so much
Hey there, I know how it’s like to feel that way. I’ve been doubting for so long it seems that peace will NEVER come! But I know that God can help me with anything despite my doubts! Please pray that I’ll somehow find peace, thank you and God bless you! ~NAP
I am 37 and I am really struggling with this. So it is no just an age thing. It is hard to believe in a God we do not see or hear. But we do have God’s word. Nowhere in the bible does it say that Jesus will reject someone who truly desires salvation. I have a few more scriptures to add. Isaiah 43:1 Fear not, for I have redeemed you. I have called you by name. you are mine. John 6:37 All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. Hebrews 7:25 Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. God does not want us to be afraid. He wants us to know that he loves us enough to save us!
Great passages!
Great Passage !! It’s good to know Im not the only one ” doubting my salavtion” I got saved when I was 14 years old & Im still 14. But the last couple months I feel like Lord this is hard , I dont know what happened. Lord I love you , I want o get back on track. Everytime I think im winning , the devil always find a way to get through. BUT IT IS A LIE. IT IS SO. I CLAIM , I BELIEVE IT. If i confess with my mouth . I AM SAVED .
Thank you so very much for these verses! What a peace that they bring!
I am 64 years old and have doubted my salvation since I was 20. I’m encouraged by so many people who share this problem. You feel like you’re the only person experiencing this. I’ve prayed the just in case prayer probably more than anyone. This blog has helped me and please don’t ever give up on God because he doesn’t give up on us.
I’m glad I ran across this blog. I am a senior, been saved for almost 50 years, but have struggled with doubt periodically through the years. Our present pastor said in a recent sermon that if you have doubts, you are more than likely lost. That sent me into a state of anxiety that almost made me sick. I, too have prayed the “just in case” prayer many times. I did it one last time earlier this spring. The Lord spoke to my mind through the Holy Spirit. He said, “Don’t. ask me that again.” I realized He was as tired of the doubts as I was. Since that time, if it flits through my mind, I can brush it away. But, thank God we have more than a one time experience to rely on. We have His word. My favorite is “He who comes to me, I will not cast away.” Did I go to Him? YES! Did He refuse me? NO! So, what’s the problem? I don’t have one concerning my eternal destiny. I pray that this new mindset sticks.
I emphatically disagree with “if you have doubts, you’re probably lost.” You can most certainly have doubts, even when you’re saved. In fact, it is an extremely effective technique of Satan. We shouldn’t stay in a state of doubt forever – but we should not follow that downward spiral…. Look to the Bible. Look to God. Choose to follow Christ.
Thank you, Martha. I, too, am a senior and have been prone to doubt at times because of well meaning pastors or teachers who say such things as “If you don’t remember when you were saved, then you probably aren’t” or “churches are full of people who profess Christ but don’t possess Christ!” I’ve wondered if that last statement isn’t really saying God hasn’t done His part by indwelling us when we do “profess” we believe and trust Him?? Of course, then they use the Scripture “even the demons believe!” Sadly, meaning of these teachings come out of godly fundamental churches. I appreciate this blog so much.
Amen, thank you, I am 42 and I deal with this often, Thank you because I know what you shared is true. Greater is he who is in us than he who is in the world. Amen.
I also grew up in a Christian home. I went to private school, attended church, prayed with my family. It’s was a lifestyle. Well when I was about 5 I asked Jesus into my heart. Like many I didn’t know what I was doing. The prayer was so obvious to me at the time, like when they asked me if I believed Jesus was the sun of God I was like yeah of course. Well 6th grade year it hit me so hard. The reality of heaven and hell became so weird. Because of that rude awakening I viewed God as a mean harsh God. I didn’t get why he would throw people into hell. It didn’t make sense to me. Until I was talking to my Sunday school teacher about it and she told me “God doesn’t chose what people go to hell, people chose to go to hell”. See if we believe that we don’t need a savior or that Jesus wasn’t the messiah then we choose hell, we choose to take our own punishment. But if you just believe that Jesus was/is the son of God and he took your punishment then you will be saved.
Like many that will read this, I prayed the salvation prayer a crazy number of times. It was unreal. Like at least once a day. I had doubt after doubt after doubt. I looked at my friends who had such strong relationships with Christ and I always got mad bc I wanted that.
Well I’ll be honest, I still doubt my salvation. Even though I prayed and asked God for one person to come up to me and tell me that I’m saved without knowing that I doubt. He actually sent two people to tell me.
See most people think that you have to have no doubts when you come to Christ. This is false bc here’s a secret: Christ loves people who have doubts. Here’s another secret: Christ only saves broken people. So if you don’t have doubts or you dont think you have sin then your prideful and Christ won’t save you. But here’s what helps me.
“Come into the warm presence of God. Look down at your clothes, realize that your cloths are dirty and ratchet. Look into hell and realize that’s what you deserve. But look up and see the one who endured that hell so he could have your dirty cloths. Take off your clothes. Be real with God. Give him your clothes and watch as he wraps a robe of forgiveness around you. Look at the scars on his hands, remember the crown of thorns, think of how his own father abandoned him. Think of his soul going through hell. Think of his could body laying in a tomb. BUT now think of the chains of hell being broken, think of the weight of your sin demolished, think of Jesus raising to life. All for you, so he could raise you to life too.”
That’s just something I made up. Kinda like a poem I guess. But hoped it helped! Please be praying for me bc I still doubt as I will be praying for other people on here! God bless!
Hebrews11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
If you will get in your KJV bible, and STAY THERE, God will give you the assurance of your salvation. Seek God with your whole heart and he will give you that assurance. Cling to the word of God.
Another assurance verse is Titus 1:2 In hope of eternal life, which God that connot lie, promised before the world began;
Friends, I’ve been through it, you can overcome it!!!
Praise the Lord. I’m so thankful to hear all the encouraging words here. I thought I was losing my mind. I will be praying for you all, and please pray for me me through my struggle with doubts as well!
I will pray for you!!! Thank you for praying for us!!!
Your salvation does not depend on what English Translation you use. A person can use a NIV, ESV, NASB, and others and God would not be offended. Faith in Christ and not in a particular English Translation is the basis for Salvation.
I too have and am still going through this. I have been plagued with this since I was a child. I have asked Jesus to save me many many times. I still doubt. I hear others testify and I get scared. I go to church services and get scared. I’m scared of revivals, campmeetings, etc. I analyze everything I think and feel. Which makes me feel more lost scared and hopeless. I hear people say I prayed and prayed till one day, I really “got it” and it confuses me more …like how do I “get it” for sure? People make statements saying they “thought” they were saved, but realized they weren’t and it scares me to death. What if thats me? Or when people say they felt like something was missing. ..this baffles me too. I do get comfort that I have had prayers answered and feel the Lord guides me and knows me. But sometimes that is all overshadowed by doubt. My husband says if your child were drowning and he cried out to you to save him, would you? Of course is my reply! Then God says He loves us like A Father and He will save you if you cry to Him.
I was right where you are and I’d encourage you to keep going back to Gods promises. If you’ve asked Him to save you, this fear is not from Him but is paralyzingly your growth like it did mine. “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and of a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7
The one major thing that makes me wonder or worry is how can I be sure I meant it in the right way specifically did I have Godly sorrow which is required or worldly sorrow ? I do reckognise I am a sinner and need God and I know I love Jesus and desire a replationship with him more than anything! But the doubts plague me even when I get reassured by someone or something it comes back again :/
Don’t overthink what kind of sorrow you had. That’s not at all how God works. If you want to repent & turn to God, then that is the right repentance – and it sounds like Satan is trying to confuse you. Cling to God’s promises. Come back to them every time. The doubts will keep coming back for awhile – that doesn’t mean your salvation isn’t real. Just keep coming back to God. It may take a long time before the doubts leave for good …..so keep reminding yourself of God’s truths.
Thanks so much! I never used to struggle but seems like the more I try to get in the word and pray more, the stronger the doubts! I know in my head torment comes from Satan! May you pray that I will never doubt again! I love Jesus and I don’t want to doubt!
Thank you!!!!! I so needed this. I suffer from doubt from time to time. You’ve helped me more than I can ever express!!!I will pray for you please keep praying for us.
That was encouraging and wise!
Pray for me
I’ve been struggling with doubting my salvation almost since I got saved. Finally, talking with my grandmother, she said the same things many of you did (a lot of people doubt their salvation, just trust in the Lord and have faith, don’t let the Devil get to you, etc.) This article and the comments really helped me since it was people that aren’t there to make me feel better going through the same things I’m going through. I also don’t read my Bible and pray like I should. When you don’t have anyone to talk you feel like you’re the only onewho had ever felt that way. It helps a lot to see my thoughts and feelings echoed in the article and comments above.
Thank you so much for posting this article. I’m 22 years old- I’ve been raised in church and in a Christian home with Christian parents and I accepted Christ at a young age. For years now, I have doubted whether it was a “true” salvation, praying the “just in case” prayer over and over and hardly ever feeling content in Christ. However, I believe that it isn’t about one decision made in the past or one sinner’s prayer that anyone can pray. It’s about having a relationship with Jesus Christ now-by knowing you are a sinner, believing in your heart and confessing with your mouth (and your actions) that He is Lord and praying to Him just as if you are talking to a friend, and also connecting to Him by reading His Word and following His commandments. I doubted so much that it wore me out out, not just spiritually, but physically, and led me to doubt Jesus’ power and love and even His existence. The Bible says (I can’t remember where) “You will find Him if you seek Him with all of your heart.” I believe that God will reveal Himself to you if you seek him with your heart. This article helped me so much and assured me that I’m not alone with these feelings. It helps to know that we are only human and others have the same struggles we do!
Yes these are all BRAVE great testimonials. God tells us to put on the full amour of God daily against the devils schemes. (Ephesians) also, that not find it strange that we r goinh through these trials ,that our sisters and brothers in Christ are experiencing the same things,(1peter). We need ro remain steadfast and cling to Gods promises regardless of our feelings and emotions. Satan tries make it so difficult, but the lord overcame this world and we have that authority in Christ that we r more than overcomers through Christ who loved us.
I have been dealing w/ this for some time now, I don’t remember asking Jesus into my heart when i was younger, I remember going to the alter and everything just not what i prayed and now being 23 and that was when i was around 9 or 10, I have been doubting my salvation but i know that i have felt God before. I to have prayed and prayed and felt like my prayers were being heard I would always get nervous about the rapture and things like that because of this.
Last night after speaking w/ the preachers wife and very dear friend of mine i am leaving it in Gods hands.
This testamony really helped me.
Thank you for following Gods leadership and sharing it.
Praise Jesus for his goodness.
May God Bless you and your family.
See you in Heaven one day.
So tonight I wacth TBN on TV and I have given my life to Jesus Christ a lot of time’s but I have been getting ackact by the emmeny by lies making me doubt about my salvation and it has been really hard on me ever since I lost my dad. My dad killed himself last year right before Christmas some time. So I could ues a lot of prayer s for peace and healing for this. I want peace to where if something were to happen to me like if I get into a car accident or something happens to me that I would go up to heaven. I don’t want to be afraid and I don’t want to be sracd no more about this I just want peace about in my life. I no we are not always granite about tommorw so I just would like peace about this for tonight and for Jesus to help me take one day at a time to help me overcome this. Thanks for the prayer s and may God bless you.
I pray that God sweeps down his hand and embraces you with all the love and healing he has to offer you. I pray that the Holy Spirit heals your broken heart and makes his presence known to you. I pray that our lord Jesus be your companion and remind you of his endless love. In Jesus name, amen
My dad is a pastor and I was saved at a young age.. like someone else said before, I remember praying the prayer, but I don’t remember how I felt. I actually prayed the prayer and was baptized at age five and then again at twelve. I started doubting my salvation off and on at about age 13, but didn’t talk to anyone about it until I was about 20 and married I told my husband I’m not saved I need to get saved so he prayed with me I didn’t feel anything, talked to my mom prayed with her didn’t feel any better. I felt like not only was I not saved, but I could never be saved.. I was in the front of the church crying feeling completely broken (the Wednesday night after that Sunday when I told my husband I wasn’t saved) and this lady came up to pray for me. She said honey I don’t now what you’re going through, but the Lord told me to tell you he is holding you in the palm of his hand. When she said that I felt love wash over me from the top of my head and go all the way down to my feet. I wish I could say that I have never doubted again, but that’s why I found this blog post because I find myself doubting. Did I mean it when I prayed? Does my life bear witness to a life lived for Christ? Was I sorry enough for my sins? Am I not in awe of the cross enough? I’m so tired of doubting I want to live completely for Jesus with no doubt between us.
I am 32 and for the past year I have struggled with this too. I feel like I’m on a time limit to figure this out. I have found myself trying to live by works to save myself because I feel like I can’t ever be saved. I believe in Jesus but at the same time I doubt. So if we doubt at the same time that we want him to save us , then will he?
Hi Danielle. I am 35 years old, and there was a time in my life that I struggled for YEARS to know if I was saved or not. About 10 years to be exact.I went through almost every thought, feeling, ritual one could do or think trying to figure out how to be saved.
There was a point that I came to, where I felt like it was too late to ever be saved. That my opportunity to be saved had passed by me. The belief was so strong, that my skin felt like it was burning. I could almost feel the fires of Hell. I wondered if I could smell it too.
My point in telling you this is not to frighten you. But to reach out and say, I know how you are feeling.
After I came to this conclusion that I had lost my last chance of being saved, and I was doomed forever, a preacher came through my Bible College and to my amazement, his sermon was how he doubted his salvation. How he at one point thought it was too late for Him as well. And how he found peace.
After he preached, I went up to him and told him I was struggling with the same exact thing. He took my Bible and showed me what I had been missing with my understanding of Jesus. I had misunderstood the Gospel. I had turned it into one of works, not on purpose, but by misunderstanding. Satan had blinded my eyes from the truth.
But when he showed me the simplicity of Jesus and what He did and accomplished on the cross for me, it all became so crystal clear.
Since that time, the Lord has brought people into my life that believes in getting a CRYSTAL CLEAR Gospel out. One ministry is this website: http://www.knowimsaved.com/
PLEASE go and take a look at this website. It is the ministry of a man that severely doubted his salvation when he was a pastor even. He has some great messages and materials to go through that can and will help you.
I KNOW with all my heart that you can be saved! And Yes Jesus wants to save you even though you doubt. 😀 He is hearing your prayers. I see this comment is just a few days old, even though this blog post is a couple of years old. I was just skimming through the comments, and saw yours and felt led to reach out to you. I do not believe this is a coincidence. God is hearing your prayers.
I will be praying for you. If you would like to correspond through email I would be happy to talk with you. My email is heather.asteadyheart@gmail.com
That site was not helpful at all. It has a lot of Spurgeon’s writings on it, and he can lift you up, and a sentence later slam you down to the ground. I’ve gotten so discouraged reading Spurgeon.
This has helped me a lot. I’ve been having doubts and this is a relief to know I’m not the only one who has struggled with this.
I was saved when I was 10 after a very clear presentation of the Gospel. I have grown in Christ greatly because of the type of churches I have been a member of and because I was taught early in my youth about how to walk with God in my Bible reading and prayer. I am in a strong soul winning church where salvation is strongly emphasized. Often I hear preachers say how important it is to “settle things” if you have any doubts. I have always felt that this is a disservice to people like me who have many times struggled with doubts about their salvation experience. I don’t think I could pray another prayer to “settle things” and it be solved for me. (I have tried this before by the way.) I have made it my habit to go to the Bible anytime I have doubts. I have found that God’s Word gives me peace in my heart and assurance concerning God’s promises. The thing that causes me the most difficulty is when I see adult church members who have had the need to get their salvation settled. A big to do is made about them getting saved and baptized, and then we are reminded that if we have any doubts we should not fool around. It is as if doubting is the same as being lost. I just wish someone would be honest and say that it is normal for Christians to have doubts, and that it is a attack from Satan to discourage us or to render us useless for Christ. Satan will do anything to get us to stop serving the Lord, and that includes challenging our faith. I think sometimes preachers will not cover this topic for fear that someone who truly does need salvation will misunderstand and get a false assurance. I have a feeling that this is a bigger problem than anyone is willing to admit.
I think you are spot on. What we can do is to share our own stories with those around us – we never know who it may help.
It was truly God-led me finding this blog because I have been struggling for years with doubts. Honestly, you’re testimony sounds so close to mine! I can’t even count the number of times I have re-prayed the sinners prayer “just in case” I hadn’t really meant it or hadn’t quite believed it enough. I know that salvation does not hinge on how good I can be but on Jesus and His shed blood for me but still I fear. I long to be close to Him…to leave all doubt and worry behind so I can focus on my relationship and walk with the Lord but I just can’t seem to find true peace. I admit I have felt true peace before. For a couple of months I didn’t doubt at all but it has started up again and it troubles me very much. I’m ashamed of myself for doubting because I know that God never lies and I hate that I doubt when I do truly believe His Word.
Reading all this has helped me so much and it’s good to know that I’m not alone! That others have the same feelings I do! You have been a great blessing to me and I thank you from the bottom of my heart!
So glad my story could help you. Don’t let yourself be ashamed about your doubts. Realize that they are an attack of the devil and that you just need to pray & fight against them. Stay strong & in time God will give you victory.
I to have struggled with this issue. I gave my heart to the Lord many years ago. I do not remember the date or year. I do remember it was during a revival and close to Halloween. I was told that if you don’t remember those dates then you aren’t saved. Now I have conflicting stories. I do know that I believe that Jesus is the son of God & that he died on that cross to take away my sins! I am getting a very late start in my Christian walk because it wain’t until recently that I actually started learning and reading the Bible. When I was saved back then I had no one to share my experience with except my friend & pastor. When I was baptized I only had my friend & my children there. My husband would not go to church & didn’t want to hear about God. Any questions I had, I would call my friend & if we couldn’t find the answer she would call her brother who was a pastor. Many years later I divorced my husband. I am now remarried and my husband & I attend church. I am 60 years old so I know that age is not a factor for these feelings. Thanks so much for all of the comments, I have gotten a lot of valuable info from here.
I was raised in a Christian home and saved when I was around 7, I think. I don’t remember much about that day. I was baptized soon after, and lived in peace until I was about 12. I did not know if I was saved, and went to the altar every Sunday praying for assurance and peace. I would pray those “just in case” prayers countless times. I was ignorant about the bible, and just begged God over and over for peace and assurance. I talked with pastors and my parents and tons of people in the church, but instead of turning to God I started looking for distractions from my pain. I fell out praying and reading my bible and I started doing and thinking bad things. It wasn’t until I was 16 when it hit me again. I repented of the life I was living and asked God to forgive me. I still could not say that I was saved. That was a couple of months ago and I still can’t. I go through the day in torment. When I ask myself “do I believe that Jesus died for my sins?” I have these horrible thoughts that “what if I’m not believing with your heart just accepting it as fact in my head. What if I’m saying that because it’s what you’ve always known?” But that’s silly, I KNOW that Jesus died for my sins and that he has forgiven me. I KNOW. But I still have those thoughts and I still do not have assurance. I’m struggling, and I find myself disobedient to God. It’s like my life is a mess and my thoughts are so clouded with confusion. It’s like God is sometimes a million miles away.
I know how you feel. Just keep coming back to Scripture every time you doubt. For me, it was a gradual process of seeing the doubts lessen. It took time but eventually they were just gone. It was almost as if Satan finally said, “forget it. She’s just going to scripture. This isn’t going to work anymore.”
I wish I knew how to stop the doubts of “do I truly believe in him in my heart or am I just saying that because it’s what I’ve always know. Or am I not truly accepting him in my heart just in my head.” Any thoughts
What helped me was thinking back to when I was in 6th grade and I remembered asking Him to save me. I knew back then I had none of these questions and was sincere so I held on to that and kept bringing it back to Scripture. If you don’t have a previous experience that you can hold on to, then I would say this: belief is a choice and all this circular reasoning is in your head. If you choose to cry out “Lord I believe, help my unbelief.” Then you believe enough. You are overthinking it and Satan is using that. Believe me I understand how hard it is. For me my circlular reasoning was “I need faith to trust Him. But if I doubt if I have enough faith then so I have enough faith?” This type of thinking is very real in the moment but looking back it is nuts and clearly an attack of Satan. If you desire to give your life to Christ and choose with your will to believe, then He will save. It’s Him not us that does the saving. We need to keep coming back and back to His promises. Hope that helps a bit.
Hi my name is Alicia I asked God to save me 13 years ago my doubts started as soon as I said amen. Every moment has been pure torture especially this past April. I was worried so badly over this I lost 8 pounds in 2 weeks. I was waking up in the middle of the night with it. I went to bed trembling in fear from the inside out. My family and my Co workers could tell something was wrong. It was pure h***and I don’t say that lightly. During that time I was never convinced I was lost just beyond scared out of my mind. My thoughts were all over the place they seemed so real. I couldn’t make them stop. They wouldn’t go away. I works think what if this or what if that. Now I’m worried I may have rejected Christ because I didn’t ask God to save the first night I knew i needed to ask God to save me. Iasked him the second night. At one point I thought i was a reprobate. I could go on for days and days. It’s like you get one thing figured out and your bothered by something else. I think what if I only had one chance to get saved. The reason I didn’t go to altar first night was bc I was so embarrassed that my boyfriend (who is now my husband) was there. I knew he wouldn’t be there the second night because he worked out of town. But I made sure i went back to church that second night(the church was having a camp meeting that week) and I asked God more like begged him to keep me out of hell I didn’t want to go. So I worry he may not have been dealing with me anymore the night I asked him to save me because I was embarrassed and I wanted to wait until my boyfriend was at work. Back in April is when this thought came to my mind and I can’tseem to get over it. I’ve prayed a million times he would forgive me for doing that.
Thank you so so soooo much for this entire posting & your responses! -You have blessed so many of us with this!!!
I’ve grown up thinking I was saved I had prayed a prayer in 8th grade but never believed on Christ. Now it’s very difficult to even process that Jesus died on the cross to take my penalty away. If you could pray for me that I would believe on Christ and what He did for me with my heart
I’m in the 7th grade and I’ve been struggling with my faith for about a month now. I read my bible and attend church and BASIC (brother and sister in Christ) at school. I knew that Jesus died on the cross for my sins and that he was my savior, but the more I thought about the more I was worried what if I was just telling myself that I was a believer and that I wasn’t really saved and wasn’t going to go to heaven with Jesus. Or I guess I’m saved because I read my bible. This was Satan attacking me. I waited a while and thought this might go away. It didn’t. I didn’t want to ask my friends or mom because I thought they wouldn’t understand and had never been through this. I looked up what to do and felt like God was pushing me to look it up. I found this website after another one. I read it and understood that I needed to continue reading verses every time I doubted God until my doubts went away. Satan will fail against my Father and Jesus will win the battle. I put some sticky notes on my wall with the verses on them. This was when ever I walk in my room I can read them and I plan to put them in my locker, lunchbox, binder and other places I often look. This way at school I can have access to them when ever I doubt. It is an hour or two after I’ve read this website and I already feel God fighting against my doubts and Satan. Hope this helps!!❤️❤️??
Jarren,
first I want to say, you aren’t alone and, for what it is worth, I will pray for you. I also feel like this might help. Forgive me if I am wrong, but I felt like I needed to answer you.
Do you believe in Jesus Christ and what He has done? Do you believe that Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten Son- born of the virgin Mary, gave His life as Sacrifice for sins so that people could be saved? Your mom, dad, sibling, neighbor, teacher, preacher, etc…? Do you believe those in your life that have said He did it for them and saved them?
He did it for us too. I say us because He did it for you and me and each and everyone of us. It’s already done, and I believe He gave his life for each one of us whether we ever accept it or not. I think, even if it had just been for one person’s opportunity to come to believe, He would have still given His life for that one person’s sin so that person could go to Heaven if they so choose.
He already did it. All that is left is for us to come seeking Him when He convicts us and shows us we’re lost, recognizing and admitting we are sinners and each have sinned and fallen short of what is required to go to Heaven, repent- be sorry for those sins, and believe on Christ as God’s only begotten Son-Born of a virgin, and what He did, believe that He came and took those sins on Himself and they were removed from us with His sacrifice of His life so we could go to Heaven, and confess with your mouth that you believe in Him, in what He’s done.
It is crazy to me that I am the one typing this to you. I don’t know when you wrote this, it may have been ages ago, but I felt like I should respond. I say crazy that I am the one replying because like so many of the others who have posted, I battle horribly with doubt. I have made myself sick going around in those circles of doubt with seemingly endless “Just in case” prayers and, as it has been pointed out, it is simple. So very simple. AND! ALREADY DONE! All that is required of us now is what I mentioned above. We, like with so many other things in our lives, complicate things unnecessarily. I apologize if I misquoted or misspoke anything and anyone else reading after, please, please feel free to clarify if I have clouded things or missed something or messed up in my bumbling attempt to help.
I pray my rambling is of help to you, even if only in some small way.
Love in Christ,
Meia
I be praying eternal life waiting if you just accept Jesus
I be praying eternal life waiting if you just accept Jesus. He died for you he loves you God bless!
7 years ago, God drew me for the first time, and it was the scariest thing id ever felt. Mostly because i was told God doesnt owe me anything and people only get 1 chance sometimes. So feared that he would never draw me again. I couldnt sleep, eat, think straight or anything as i cried daily for months. I always thought i was saved because i believed. He showed me i was wrong. He drew me to the altar time and time again, and each time i rejected for fear and pride. I wanted to be saved more than anything in the world, but my flesh was weak. I got lost back in the world for years, thinking that was it. Hoping he would come back to me one day, when im alone, so Satan didnt have a chance to make me stay in my seat. Then i decided to go back to church one day after 4 years i guess, Fathers Day. because i was having surgery and in my mind i knew God was going to send me to Hell, and this would be my death. To die during surgery. He drew me again… this time to floor in front of me, not the altar. I waited, then prayed, crying, begging, but doubting. Never got it. Went another couple years lost.. knowing it… bothered, but still living any way i chose. Telling myself i had time. So about a year ago, this month, i started watching Brother Charles Lawson on youtube. A wonderful preacher of God. No doubt. He talked about the end times, and i watched more and more on death and salvation. The fear started returning to my heart, then about april last year i wrote him letters, and their church tellimg them my heart, and mind and how i needed prayers and help. I knew i was lost and i had to do something. Thought God was gone. That was my last chance. Then on Fathers Day, same church, as i went last time years before on that day, i showed up hours before church was to start, and a man seen me, and called the preacher to come talk to me. He said we can pray and you can get saved right now, i didnt beleive him, doubts again… because i was told years before you cant go to God and decide when u were ready… he had to call or draw. This to me meant a heart pounding feeling, to one spot, and a pull like before. We prayed and cried out begging God to save me. Never happened. Then i got home, and had a phone call from a man at Pastor Lawsons church i had been watching on YouTube. Brother Ronnie. He said he got my letter, and we talked for a while as i cried. He prayed with me. I was becoming fearful, hurt, afraid to sin for fear he would give up on me… the finally on Tuesday June 23rd at around 9:30, my girlfriend had left for work, and i read Acts to chapter 10 or so. I closed the Bible. I said “Lord, somebody once told me to talk to you like a friend, here i am.” I told Jesus i did everything i could to be saved. Cried every tear possible, done all i could. I told him i didnt want to live one more day lost, didnt want to wake up another day lost, i told him i give up! I cant do this anymore. I beleive with all my heart you forgive me of all my sins, already have, i just do. You have to do this.. i cant. The last things i remember saying was “Lord help me remove this wall of doubt so i could be saved.!” I knew it was keeping me from reaching him. I wanted to touch him, but a wall was in my way. The next thing i know there was no reason to cry, to fear, to ask… it was like a light came on… and immediately i knew within myself, God just saved me. I threw myself off of my bed and to the floor on my knees and face. I screamed Jesus I Love You!!! So loud. I felt such releif and joy. Saying heavenly father felt wonderful. I was trembling all over and couldnt stop crying. I felt his goodness all around me. So i had to tell someone. I called brother ronnie and gave them the news. I will say.. its been 10 months, and my joy and peace i have lost. I dont feel saved, im afraid in church, i dont know my direction, and i doubt again. I feel in my heart, he is all i want and need. I just want to know his will. I am guilty for being fearful, doubtful, and not sure what to do. Havent even been baptized, for fear of God telling me im still lost. Have an unsaved girlfriend i live with… no fornication anymore… i made mistakes. Been togetehr 6 years. He is dealing witth her some.. its a blessing. deep in my heart i know what happened to me, i can tell people all day, but i mever truley accepted it for myself. Salvation to my mind was a thing, feeling, not him. For years i belived that. Now i get saved.. and doubt not lobng after. Eveeytime i go to church every sermon he speaks about salvation or lost, i say “thats me” Gods drawing me? Im lost? Hiw? I get angry and sad. I feel it… why?? What did i do wrong?? I feel like dying sometimes
I’m so sorry you’re having so many doubts. I would encourage you to search the Scriptures and claim Gods promises. Salvation is not about a feeling. And honestly it is nothing about us or what we do. It is simply trusting in what Christ already did. You trusted Him for that before, so now you must trust His promises that He will do and has done what He promises. Don’t trust your feelings – trust His promises.
Travis it’s been 7 years since you wrote this.
How are you today?
Hi…I too have struggled with doubts my entire Christian walk. I’ve had many, many victory moments and times I felt on the Mountain top…I know Jesus loves me…I know in my heart, that I love Him…so why do I doubt my Salvation? I want so much to live my life for HIm 100% yet I know I let Him down daily. Sometimes I think “all I want is for Jesus to tell me, I’m His”…yet I know HIs Word says that for me. I have head knowledge…it’s my heart that ttoubles me. It drives me crazy. My thoughts drive me crazy. I have few friends and only one family member, whom I know , that is close enough to me that I can speak to her about my Christianity…but I think she believes…once saved always saved. I want to love The Lord with all my heart and all my soul and all my strength…but I’m not sure if that is true…I’m not sure how much love is in my heart. When I was a little girl…I had soooooooooooo much love in my heart for The Lord. I spent so much time in devotions when I was a teen. I truly loved The Lord. Now as an adult of 55, I feel more confused and sometimes lost…please pray for me. God bless you…
Hello.. I am 14 years old and I have been going to church all my life. When I was 11, during revival I was convicted. I went to the alter to pray with my nana, and I thought I was saved that night. I started doubting my salvation about a month after. One Sunday morning when I was 13, I felt like I was being convicted again. I went to the alter to pray, and felt so much better. I started doubting again a little while after that. I still struggle with doubts. Sometimes I feel like there is no way I’m not saved. At other times I wonder if I truly am or not. I’m scared that I will think I’m saved, but then die and go to Hell because I wasn’t right. I have been praying constantly, asking for the lords help. I just feel like nothing is working. I don’t really feel him knocking on my heart anymore either. I’m scared that if I’m not saved, it might be too late. I’ve prayed so many “just in case prayers” also. I’ve gotten my mom to pray with me too, and I still feel doubts. Everyone makes it sound like a huge burden is lifted, but I just felt the fear go away, and it came back shortly after. I was also baptized a few weeks ago, and I haven’t stopped doubting since. All I know is that I love the lord, and I believe in him with all my heart. Any advice would be appreciated, thank you, and God bless you!
For me, there was not a huge relief either. I chose to claim Gods promises and every time I doubted I would read through the list of verses and claim them. Over time the doubts came less often…. And eventually they stopped coming back. So find verses that you can claim and trust God that He will do what He said He would.
Thank you so much for this post, I’ve been struggling with doubt for so long. I grew up a preachers kid in a Pentecostal church, and I’ve never had a big manifestation for myself. Satan torments me but I know God is guiding me through this. I used to look for God in a big voice or a big manifestation that I couldn’t hear his still small voice. I feel like crying bc this has really been a big help!!! I also try to remember Satan is the ACCUSER of the brethren. I’m going to build my house upon the rock, God’s word!
You say to just choose to claim Gods promises …is it that simple ? I’m afraid to just claim them . Doesn’t God have to give you the ability to believe ? I have heard preachers all my life say that you can only come if the spirit is drawing you . I have struggled for so long . I have prayed and prayed and begged to be saved and still can’t seem to claim salvation because I’m afraid I have missed it . I’m afraid I am only believing with my head and not my heart . I know that salvation based on What Christ did and that without that there is no hope . I just don’t seem to be able to claim that for myself. Thoughts ??
Salvation is a free gift! You don’t work for a free gift, you just receive it. If you want it and accept it, it’s yours.
This sounds like I could have typed it word for word. I have struggled for so long. I’m afraid to claim it because i’m afraid i’m not really trusting him they say i’m supposed to .
This site knowimsaved.com has really been helping me lately also check out the FB page to his church and read how he explains scripture.
This blog has been a blessing to me. I was 10 when I asked God to save me. I began to doubt my salvation when I was around 13. I have struggled many many years. I am now 51 and I am a Baptist Pastor wife. Sometimes I am confident and other times not. I have prayed many times. When I started doubting when I was a teenager. I went to the altar a lot . I asked God to save me I got baptized 2 more times after my time. I truly fought then as indo now that God saved me the very first time.
I too would hear preachers say things like: you need to know that you know, or if you doubt then you need to get it took care of, ect.
I could write a book on this. I had an elderly preacher tell me one that he didn’t understand why people doubt but his sister was the same way. I guess that was the first time I realized others are going through this.
My doubts usually are brought on by something like: when I hear someone say I thought I was saved when I was younger but I wasnt. I know I am now. That usually get me to saying how did they know. I then start praying.
I taught a Wednesday night class to the ladies at church on this. I was amazed at the positive response I received. I could tell some struggled as I do at times. Just pray for me that God will use me to help other with their walk.
I do not know why some doubt and others do not. I DO know we serve a loving God that would not turn His back on anyone truly seeking Him.
Hello Rhonda I have had a hard time with my salvation I have been to the alter multiple times asking god to save me that I need help all I want is to be saved that’s all. I catch myself everyday letting this world just pulling me back like I know I need to read my bible but it seems like something always comes up. My life has changed but I’m just struggling which time I got saved I need help I need God’s help. I try to pray from my heart and with faith but I don’t know what I’m doing wrong. There days I wonder maby I wanted to long too get saved. But there’s days I’m just tired.
Summer I feel your pain…I too have been to the alter multiple times and have prayed multiple “just in case” I didn’t do it right the first time or my salvation “didn’t take”. I struggle daily with this and it’s a miserable life. I do know that I wouldn’t have made it this far if it wasn’t for God intervening in my life…. I just continue to pray for guidance… I ask that we all pray for each other daily with this struggle.
I feel like your testimony is mine changing a few minor details.
I got saved at the age of 4 in a Fundamental Baptist Church. I remember walking to the altar, I remember who took me into the gym storage room to pray, I remember praying (not the words I prayed though) and I remember exactly where I sat in that storage room. I was baptized at the age of 5. I remember a lot from this day as well.
I had doubts once or twice as a teenager but was able to settle them quickly. I grew up in the same church and was under the preaching of truth all my life. I was never a “good” Christian as in I didn’t read my Bible daily and pray like I should, I was very shy so I avoided some ministering opportunities but I felt secure with God.
Fast forward to today. I am 26 years old with a 4 and 1 year old and expecting my 3rd child. I started doubting my salvation in March of 2015. It has been a long road and I am still fighting the doubts. Thank you for the scripture references. I have prayed the “just in case” salvation prayers 100’s of times. I deal with the same thoughts you described. I have complicated the simplicity of salvation to such an extreme in my head that I don’t think anyone could get saved. I have met with my Pastor a couple times as well. We have all determined that I am saved and I need to fight Satan through the power of God on this. It’s so much easier to think that if I could just get saved this would all disappear, but then I wouldn’t grow.
I have grown so much through this. I have read my Bible and prayed more than I ever have before. I have discovered so much more about who God is and how He thinks of me. I hate that I’m going through this but at the same time I am thankful for it. God is showing me so much even though I doubt him almost daily. He really is faithful. I would have given up on me by now, but God hasn’t. I still have a long road ahead but I can’t wait til I reach the point of full assurance. All your testimonies have been very encouraging. I feel like I could write a novel about the experiences and doubts I have faced the last year but this is it in short. A really good book that helped me immensely is “Full Assurance by H.A. Ironside.” At one point he writes about how we cannot base our faith on our feelings. Feelings are a fruit of faith. They will not come until we can have faith. And fruit takes awhile to grow, it won’t be immediate feeling of assurance.
Remember that the Word of God is powerful, it is our sword against Satan and he hates the Word of God. He knows it is truth and that is why he will flee from it. The Father of all lies cannot stand to hear pure holy truth.
Amen!
I was raised up in a Christian home and my family went to an independent Baptist church that preached the gospel.When I was 5 years old I got baptized but I didn’t really know what The importance of baptism was and that you needed to be saved to get baptized. A couple years later I was 9 and I was starting to wonder if I was going to heaven when I died I heard about salvation and being saved but I never really knew what it meant. I believed in what the bible said and I believed in God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit but I was still so confused. I didn’t understand what getting saved meant until I was 12 or 13 that’s when I prayed to God to forgive me of my sins and I asked him to save me. After that I started doubting and wondering if I was really saved I can’t tell you how many times I did the ” Just in case” prayer it must have been every service because my pastor would always ask if you knew that you knew that you knew you were saved. As time went on I grew more and more doubtful of my salvation there were very few times I didn’t doubt that I was saved. I felt so hopeless and scared because everyone else around me was sure of there salvation and I just felt like I was only person having this problem. Today I’m 15 years old I don’t feel as doubtful as I used too but there is still periods of doubt however After talking with some of my siblings and hearing testimonies of other teens who go through this I feel encouraged and I no longer feel like the only person who goes through this. I also realized that this feeling of doubt also comes from not reading my bible as often,not walking with God on a daily basis like I should, and living in the flesh instead of living According to Gods will. This blog and reading about other people who struggle with this in the comments really reassure’s me that I’m a apart of the family of God and that this is just one of the devils tricks to throw young Christians off the path of righteousness that the lord wants us to walk
Hello.. I’m 18 years old and I accepted Jesus at the age of 10… I was baptized at 8 but only did it because a friend did it… But 2 years later received the Holy Spirit… At the age of 14 I got rebaptized because I wanted to make sure it was done correctly and done in Jesus Name so I could make it to Heaven.. At that time I thought it was something I needed to do and felt good about it afterwards.. Now I am starting to have doubts about if God truly accepted it or not because of my lack of understanding back then.. All I knew was that there was a heaven and a hell.. And I wanted to make sure I did the right thing so I can make it heaven… Do you think this is Satan trying to play mind games on me.? Or do I need to get rebaptized because of my lack of understanding as a young teen.?
First off being baptized cannot save you only accepting Jesus Christ to save you can send you to Heaven. Put your trust and accept Jesus and you will be saved. God bless!
I have like many of you went forward to be saved many times. I have doubted most of my life. I really struggle with this. I get scared to go to revivals, tent meetings,youth meetings because they preach on Salvation. Or if people say I thought I was saved, but I realized I was not. Or they kept thinking something wasn’t right inside. That scares me. The fact that I get scared to go to these services makes me think that a “true” Christian wouldn’t think that. I also worry when people say they prayed and prayed and finally “got it” (salvation ) it really confuses me. Maybe I don’t really have it. I too grew up in church with Christian parents who never doubted. I have sought help from everywhere. And yes sometimes u feel helpless. I pray and tell God I want assurance. I want to want to attend these services without fear. But I’m whipped before I attend. I start doubting before I ever get there.
Sounds like Satan has you so fearful you can’t benefit from church…
So do you believe a person this fearful could be saved. This is something I deal with daily .
This post and these comments have been such a big help! I’m 17 years old. I had claimed to be saved when I was 8. I have been raised in a Christian home and my dad is an ordained preacher. When I was 13 years old I sat at church and really felt conviction which I didn’t feel when I first claimed to be saved. So I got up and got my dad and went to the altar to pray. I had heard peoples’ testimonies and it always confused me because the way they talked about it made me think something big would happen when I got saved. But after I prayed that night I got up from the altar and talked to my dad a little bit because I was confused( again, because I was expecting some big thing o happen to me to show me I got saved) . As I went back to our seats I realized I felt so calm and peaceful and my heart didn’t feel like it was gonna beat out of my chest anymore. I asked my dad if that’s how he felt when he got saved and he said yes. I felt so much better. I got baptized again and then a few months later I started doubting. During that time I found out my mom also struggled with doubt sometimes too. And I’ll admit I have slacked as a Christian. A lot. I don’t go out and party hard or anything but I just don’t read or pray or spend enough time with God and sometimes really don’t focus in church. So I have been dealing with doubt for awhile and it comes in waves. I’ll freak out about it for a little bit and then I feel confident in my salvation for awhile. Then I doubt again. I see how other Christians around me have such a close relationship with God and see them filled with the spirit during church and I get jealous because I don’t get that. And I’ve always somewhat known it was because I wasn’t as close to God as I should be. lately at night I’ve been doubting my salvation and it scares me. But reading these posts gives me comfort and I thank god for that. I know that reading posts isn’t the only thing that will get it done though. I need to spend more time with God and spend more time reading his word, and I hope others struggling with this can do the same and that they can stop doubting too. And other thing, when I went to pray at the altar about my salvation again about a year or two ago, a woman at my church said something to the effect of “The devil never made you doubt it before you were saved because he had no reason to, but since you’re saved he has a reason to make you doubt.” Which also helped me. And she’s right. After I claimed to be saved at 8 years old I never doubted it. Satan had what he wanted. I wasn’t saved but I thought I was. So there was no reason to make me doubt it because as long as I was actually lost but believed I was saved there was no issue for him. As long as I ended up in hell, he was happy. But after I got saved at 14 I started to doubt. I was on my way to Heaven and Satan didn’t like that. And the only way to make him feel better about that is to tear us down and make us sad as long as we are on this Earth. I’m not sure I explained correctly or made sense, but I hope this helps someone who is struggling. (:
This 100% makes sense. I have thought this about myself several times. Satan didn’t mess with me before I was saved; but since I have been saved, he has made a point to cripple my faith with doubt. He knows what gets us.
Thank you for this God bless!
I’m struggling with this now. Though I’m long past being a teenager, I have been trying to come back to our Lord for about a year now and completely relate to the struggle described.
Thank you so much for sharing this! I gave my life to the Lord when I was 14 and I have had my doubts but recently, they have hit me hard. I kept asking myself, “Why do I not “feel” God?” “Why do I not have that peace all the time?” I think it’s important to always be in the word. If we start to drift away from his word or stop talking to him through prayer, we tend to lose that peace and the world starts to get a hold of us. Once again, thank you so much for sharing this, it was an encouragement!
I have been saved for years, but doubt continues to plague me. I continues to pray for chances to make sure that I am saved, but my timid nature holds me back from taking them. Pray for me that the Lord be patient with me and help me through this.
This was an emotional blog for me to read to say the least. I’m 33 years old and like many of you, grew up in a Christian home . I was never into drugs, drinking , etc. I didn’t have a wicked lifestyle to get saved from. I went to summer camp each year with our church. I was in church every Sunday . I’m now having these wicked fears that I just can’t seem to shake. It’s like a rush of fear inside of me that I can’t Control. I’m terrified to think of what happens when we die . Blackness? How do we know heaven is real when nobody can see it? I thought these fears were because maybe I wasn’t really truly repenting when I got saved . Maybe I didn’t really mean it when I said the prayer . But after reading this, I can see this is Satan using my instability and my lack of spending time in God’s word to attack me. I have a real spiritual battle going on isnide of me and I just want to know how to beat it. If you guys get this message, please pray for me as well. I’d really love the feel the Lord comfort me so that I can rest and know where I’m going when I die.
I was saved, bought, and sealed August 4, 2011 but I went astray for a period of time. When I ran back to the arms of Jesus He openly accepted me. But later down the road as I was growing in my walk Satan hit me with doubt and it crippled me. Little did I know it was Satan and it was absolutely horrifying. I lived in utter agony for a week and then I prayed and said to myself, “well you believe in Jesus, you asked Him for forgiveness, and we know God’s promises are true!” After I finally got over that I had a desire in my heart start to seed up. August 1, 2016 I announced my call to preach and it blows my mind that the Lord has entrusted me with such an honor. PRAISE BE UNTO GOD
Hi Hunter,
Thanks for your testimony. If you don’t mind, can you share a little of your experience with me – in terms of your saved experience i.e. how old you were, how you accepted Christ etc? ( if your comfortable w talking about it ) and woulld you mind explaining what you mean by “went astray for a period” ( again only if you feel comfortable).
The reason I ask is because i feel i went through a very similar experience but am experiencing significant doubts regarding my salvation ( or the loss of it ) due to certain scriptures; whereas, you seem to have found a solution, or at least freedom from the doubt; as well as the joy in being back with your Savior. I’ll give you a thorough description below about my experience but first let me say that the scriptures I refer to are Hebrews 6:4-6, and Hebrews 10:26-28.
I don’t know if you wrestled with these scriptures or if they bothered you during your doubting period but they continue to grip me now ( and they had in the past after my baptism over 17 yrs ago for a time ) until I ” went astray for a while “.
of course, if you feel, the need to email me privately please feel free at s.david.25@hotmail.com.
my story is as follows:
i am currently 39, male and was baptized and felt I accepted Christ as Lord and savior at around 22. i dont remember the exact date.
I struggled with a lot over my childhood and teenage years with fears, insecurities, trouble at school etc…my life was always ( or at least seemed ) marked or characterized by sadness, troubles, etc…my dad had a tough position on me and my 2 sisters ( not to any real abuse levels ) but there was certainly physical punishment when we did wrong and sometimes, that punishment, to some degree, certainly looked and felt like abuse..dont get me wrong; there were good times as well. my mother was loving, as well as my grandmother – who was my heart. ( grandma passed when I was in my 30s.) my sisters and i got along well and i grew up with a somewhat normal childhood.
now, my dad was a big disciplinarian as well as intimidating nuturer – he wanted me to go pro as a tennis player since I was 5 – but it never panned out. I grew up as a teenager angry ( mostly at him), fearful, no real motivation except drugs , alcohol and trying to fit in in school.
regarding my church life; we grew up “christian” in a Methodist church and up until 15 ish I was very actively involved in church activity , Sunday school etc…I always had a knowledge of Jesus and scriptures but they never resonated on a personal level until I finally decided my life was out of control ( gettin kicked out of multiple schools and too much smoking, drinking and drug abuse which started maybe from 14 – 18). when i finally decided to seek god out again, i started reading alot of psalms, proverbs etc. i also met with a church (through my sister who was actively involved in it). they started studying the bible w me and I decided to confess my sins and get baptized. I doubted the first baptism cause I didn’t confess everything ( out of shame and fear of judgement) I decided to finally tell my pastor what it was and we continued to study out the bible. it wasn’t till a few years later, maybe 2 or 3 ( i honestly don’t remember at this point ), that I decided to get baptized again ( which seemed real because everything had now been exposed aanf I decided I wanted to make Christ lorLord.
Long story short; shortly after that 2nd baptism i was still wrestling with sin but like any other Christian. i understood we all had struggles and sin doesn’t go away overnight. but it wasn’t a habitual continual sinning. and every time I did give into something I would confess it. i contnued going to church and praying, reading etc but I always had these struggles w doubt ( i understand Satan is cunning and crafty etc; and we spent many a church sermon, bible study etc learning about his ways and how he can use and turn scripture against us )….
but through this time I never fully grew in and mastered my faith. i was like the seed who fell among thorns. the world kinda had a lure on me ( mainly cause I felt I didn’t experience it to the degree other had- in terms of pleasures. and maybe I felt i needed to taste those things before I got disgusted enough to say ” NO MORE” ). I feel my faith was slowly being choked out.
slowly but surely one sin led to another and another and I left that church but still kept some friends from there and still kept confessing my sins through the years but I technically started drifting pretty hard…not reaading as much, Dec not going to church…ended up getting 2 college degrees and things seemed normal but my sins and the world still pulled me in. I kept doing things that kept leading to oother things and soon wad caught up in the whole cycle of smoking marijuana again in my mid 30s. after nearly 10 years of sobriety ( there was still drinking in those years so sobriety was never fully there ). the drug use continued for a year or so…35 – 36. then I stopped again and tried to hold on to scriptures like in isaiah..that God was still with me. but I kept having frightening thoughts about my salvation and a fear that if I returned to him i might fall into sin again but I also from digging alot into isaiah and jeremiah i weirdly felt him saying ( in fact the scriptures were saying in Joel, hosea etc…) ” return to me w all you heart” and ” I will heal your backsliding” I felt a pull and feeling that he still wanted me back and that all was forgiven like isaiah says ” i have redeemed you, you are mine”, and “I will never abandon you” but THEN, a year later, I was pulled back to the drinking and marijuana use again for about another year…2015-16
I finally got off it since Oct 2016, and stopped some of the other things that came with it, i.e. lying, stealing, cigarettes, sexual sins and more but in the last year there were minor bouts of sin….
I’m done with the ways of this world and am sick to my stomach but am now doubting if those promises still apply to me….and more so confused about whether or not those verses from hebrews apply and i did “willfully persist” in sins…maybe even thinking works baswd for a while which i know is not good to think.
sorry for the long post and again, only if you feel comfortable sharing your story in more detail, mainly how you stopped your doubts, I would greatly appreciate it. I understand everyone’s story is different and i do not wish for you to struggle with trying to help me find a solution, but only if your situation was similar and you found a true saving solution. If you dont feel comfortable sharing your story in depth either i completly understand.
thanks again,
Solomon
Age of 35 you got saved right
Thank you all so much for your comments. I also feel like I live in a world of people who either do not believe at all or who do believe, profess that they believe, seem to always be joyful about God and trusting in his promises and encouraging towards others, etc. And I had many people saying things to me like, “you have to be in your Bible and in constant dialogue with the LORD in prayer”. Which I was doing for a certain period of time when these doubts hit me VERY hard, shortly after I being struck with panic attacks out of nowhere. I began experiencing other very strange physical symptoms, as well as so much cognitive impairment it was ruining my life. Every day I was sure I was going to die. I was sure there HAD to be something physically wrong with me and went to Doctor after doctor after Doctor, with no help other than being told I simply needed to be on medication for anxiety and depression. I sought help from my circle of Christian women in a Bible study at my church and confessed that I had a deep fear that I really did not belong to Christ, that my faith wasn’t real, that I might be one of the ones that was “made for destruction” or one that would eventually be part of the ones that were going to be “falling away”. Several of them seemed certain most of my issues were manifestations of spiritual attack and needed to be fought with weapons of spiritual warfare. At first I was hopeful about this, even empowered. So I
began to fight. I was on my knees EVERY DAY. Poring over the Scriptures EVERY DAY. Literally crying out, even screaming, to God to show me that I was saved and take away my unbelief EVERY DAY. I prayed for the armor of GOd and spoke out loud rebuking, refusing, resisting, and renouncing the Devil in Jesus’ name EVERY DAY. I experienced some temporary relief from time to time. My friends kept encouraging me, telling me my “deliverance was coming soon”, and continued to
Intercede for me I’m prayer and provide emotional support. However, as time went on, I plunged deeper and deeper into confusion, continued to be tormented by almost constant anxiety, frequent panic attacks, and spiraled into the worst depressive episode of my life (which I have struggled with most of my life since adolescence). I could barely function and was heartbroken everyday over the effects this was having on my children and husband. EVentually I reached a point where the stress was so severe that I began to
suffer from a symptom called “derealization” where I felt almost completely disconnected from my surroundings, like nothing was real. It was the most terrifying feeling I have ever felt. I continued to wear myself out with desperate prayer. I did not understand it; I just didn’t get why I felt like I had to pray SO HARD, and Study my Bible SO FERVENTLY, while
Other people in my life such as my husband, who is also a believer, did
none of those things and simply was able to believe and trust. I felt completely alone in my struggle and I was utterly EXHAUSTED. I eventually ended up in the hospital.
I have since been taking medication and have been doing much better physically and emotionally, however, these thoughts still plague me and I don’t know where to turn, how to be free of them. But I am truly thankful to know that I am not alone and will continue to “fight the good fight”. If anyone has a similar story and has truly come out on the other side, please respond to my comments. Thank you, and let us all “be confisent in this, that he who began a good work in you, will carry it on, to completion, until the day of Christ Jesus.”
Thank you all so much for your comments. I also feel like I live in a world of people who either do not believe at all or who do believe, profess that they believe, seem to always be joyful about God and trusting in his promises and encouraging towards others, etc. And I had many people saying things to me like, “you have to be in your Bible and in constant dialogue with the LORD in prayer”. Which I was doing for a certain period of time when these doubts hit me VERY hard, shortly after I being struck with panic attacks out of nowhere. I began experiencing other very strange physical symptoms, as well as so much cognitive impairment it was ruining my life. Every day I was sure I was going to die. I was sure there HAD to be something physically wrong with me and went to Doctor after doctor after Doctor, with no help other than being told I simply needed to be on medication for anxiety and depression. I sought help from my circle of Christian women in a Bible study at my church and confessed that I had a deep fear that I really did not belong to Christ, that my faith wasn’t real, that I might be one of the ones that was “made for destruction” or one that would eventually be part of the ones that were going to be “falling away”. Several of them seemed certain most of my issues were manifestations of spiritual attack and needed to be fought with weapons of spiritual warfare. At first I was hopeful about this, even empowered. So I
began to fight. I was on my knees EVERY DAY. Poring over the Scriptures EVERY DAY. Literally crying out, even screaming, to God to show me that I was saved and take away my unbelief EVERY DAY. I prayed for the armor of GOd and spoke out loud rebuking, refusing, resisting, and renouncing the Devil in Jesus’ name EVERY DAY. I experienced some temporary relief from time to time. My friends kept encouraging me, telling me my “deliverance was coming soon”, and continued to
Intercede for me I’m prayer and provide emotional support. However, as time went on, I plunged deeper and deeper into confusion, continued to be tormented by almost constant anxiety, frequent panic attacks, and spiraled into the worst depressive episode of my life (which I have struggled with most of my life since adolescence). I could barely function and was heartbroken everyday over the effects this was having on my children and husband. EVentually I reached a point where the stress was so severe that I began to
suffer from a symptom called “derealization” where I felt almost completely disconnected from my surroundings, like nothing was real. It was the most terrifying feeling I have ever felt. I continued to wear myself out with desperate prayer. I did not understand it; I just didn’t get why I felt like I had to pray SO HARD, and Study my Bible SO FERVENTLY, while
Other people in my life such as my husband, who is also a believer, did
none of those things and simply was able to believe and trust. I felt completely alone in my struggle and I was utterly EXHAUSTED. I eventually ended up in the hospital.
I have since been taking medication and have been doing much better physically and emotionally, however, these thoughts still plague me and I don’t know where to turn, how to be free of them. But I am truly thankful to know that I am not alone and will continue to “fight the good fight”. If anyone has a similar story and has truly come out on the other side, please respond to my comments. Thank you, and let us all “be confident in this, that he who began a good work in you, will carry it on, to completion, until the day of Christ Jesus.”
I have doubted on and off for half my life. One thing that helps me, is when Jesus talks about receiving the Kingdom of heaven like a child. Children are innocent & believe. They probably don’t even know what it means to doubt. In this world of uncertainties, of postmodernism and “no absolute truth” it’s no wonder so many people struggle with doubt. I am so thankful for an UNCHANGING God, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.
I think the key factor here is lack of faith. God is faithful to do what He promises. Always. You cannot out-sin God. The Lord still fulfilled his promise to Abraham & Sarah, even after Sarah told Abraham to go and sleep with his maid-servant, Hagar. So even though Sarah tried to fulfill God’s promise through a different woman, God still delivered his promise of making Sarah conceive 14 years later. He IS FAITHFUL, even if we haven’t been.
One thing that you can do is to verbally tell Satan to go back to hell in Jesus Name! In 1 John 5, it says “I write you these things, so that ye MAY KNOW THAT YOU ARE SAVED.” Trust the Lords word. Jesus says Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away!! How awesome and how POWERFUL! How GREAT is Our GOD!
Right before Jesus died on the cross, he said “it is finished” this is an accounting term, which means paid in full. Our sin has been paid! Praise the Lord! If you had cancer (sin in this example) and someone said they had the cure, and would pay for it for free, wouldn’t you be extatic? We must trust Jesus. Rely on him, LEAN on the everlasting Arm, trust and obey, even when it doesn’t make sense. Just like the angel of the Lord told Joshua & his troops to March around Jericho for 7 days…didn’t really make sense, but he trusted the Lord. We must remember to Trust in the Lord with ALL of our heart (not just some of it) and to LEAN NOT ON OUR OWN UNDERSTANDING. In ALL of our ways acknowledge HIM and HE shall make our paths straight! Proverbs 3:5-6
I grew up going to church , was taught about Jesus but never really understood. As I was a teen I knew he was there but never followed him or accepted him, I actually went off and was very rebellious ,involved in drugs and lots of sexual activity. I then moved in with my boyfriend and we had a few kids over the course of 6 years, it was with my 3rd child I came down with post partum psychosis and I remember crying Jesus help me Jesus help me for weeks but I still never heard about being saved then so I don’t think he saved me then, then I got mixed into an apostolic church for a short time but it was during women’s prayer one night that I repented and was crying and apologizing but still never knew about being saved. My life was changing more towards christ and his scripture was convicting so I would change my ways as I was convicted. Wasn’t til 6 years ago I met my husband who always talked about being born again and I couldn’t tell him I wasn’t because I thought I was already a child of God and going to heaven just because I believe but I never prayed a prayer to accept him into my heart. So would you say I was never saved then? I’m so confused. We had watched sermons of Charles stanley and he always prayed a salvation prayer at the end and I would juSt say it with him. Then last year I woke up with horrid anxiety, doubting everything I once knew, to the point where I was even doubting Jesus existence! How awful of me! My husband asked me if I’m sure I’m saved and I just said yeah but then I wasn’t so sure and since then this past year I don’t know if I’ve ever been saved. I’ve prayed the sinners prayer and prayed multiple times a day everyday , I thought if I didn’t figure it out right now I’m doomed for hell. As I write this I feel my anxiety coming on with fear that I don’t know if I’m saved or not because I’ve never had a day that was so apparent to me. But before my anxiety started last year I believed with all my heart that Jesus died for me and my sins and that he is alive. I even was baptized with my husband about 5 years ago proclaiming that I’m living for the lord, but I still at that point never prayed a salvation prayer! I just thought I had to believe in him and follow him and I was good. Is that not being saved? I live each day in worry and fear that I’m not saved ,I don’t have assurance that I am. I want so desperately to be saved and I worry that I’m the one that falls on rocky ground and will fall away or I think I’m saved but then when I die find out that I never made the cut and to hell I go. Please help me somehow. I want to love Jesus without wavering. I wasn’t like this before but I don’t know if I was saved before this anxiety started last year and if I wasn’t how can I be saved if I’m in the the middle of doubting, I’ve cried out so many times lord I believe help my unbelief and I do believe in him, I know I do. I just want to know if I was saved back then when I just simply believed and wanted to follow his commands . I wish I knew. I don’t want to be waverying, I want to be saved and live my life , but do I not understand enough? Is my faith not strong enough? If my faith is barely anything how can I even be saved? I wish I had a day i knew I was saved so that I could fall back on that day. Any insight please would be great.
God bless the person who wrote this it helped me understand my salvation. I have been having douts about my salvation and this cleared it up and now I understand. Thanks 🙂
Hello,
I am someone who has doubted off and on for decades. I don’t know what I knew about Jesus when. I know I asked to be saved. I just don’t know when I knew about resurrection. I was in my 20’s before I knew Son of God meant God. Is it enough to call upon the name of Jesus to be saved or do you have to know all of this at once?
I can’t give you an emphatic answer on how much you need to understand – but I know believing Jesus is God is important. If you’re concerned that you didn’t understand that back when you called on Him before, you could always call again now. He is there ready to answer you. But don’t be paralyzed by a fear that you must understand every truth before you are saved – the Holy Spirit teaches us so much after our salvation.
I too had doubts for most of my life. I was saved since i was age 13. Satan lied to me and i gave him too much credit. Its still the same thing as in the Garden of Eden. God told the truth. Satan lied to Adam and Eve, but they believed Satan instead of God. Its still the same thing. We have the choice to believe God or Satan. This is where doubt comes in from. I used to have doubts about my salvation. Satan lied to me, and not knowing better, I believed Satan’s lie. Aftet i was saved by God, Satan said i was not saved. So, Why did I have doubts? Because i didnt fully believe God. Due to Satan’s lie. I had to decide who to fully believe. I chose to believe God. When i did that just two weeks ago, all doubts went away. God’s word says that the truth shall set you free. The truth has set me free of all doubts concerning my salvation in Christ Jesus. Now without doubts, i feel so free. I am finally free. I live a happy life now with God. I feel that a heavy burden has been lifted from on me. I know know beyond any doubts that i will die and be with God forever in His Heaven. God’s word has set me free. I no longer fear death. I told my two grown daughters that when i die, think of me that I only “moved.” I told them both never think of me as dead coz that is not true with my soul. I moved to Heaven and that I will be waiting on you both to move up here near me. And also near God of course. That is how sure i am saved. I hope that this will help someone somewhere. Also read John 1:12. ” … even to those who believe on His name.” You dont need to know everyting about God and His holy Bible in order for God to save you. I was saved by God when i was only age 13. I knew less than ten verses in the whole bible, yet God saved me.
Ronald Thomas, you are awesome! We all relate to this. I did not know a whole lot either. None of us really do. Your comment helps. I’m in a time where I could use some comfort! If I could sit down and have a cup of coffee with you, I would. I encourage you do that soon with someone and help them with salvation. You are a guiding light.
This really helped! Thank you so much ?? To God be all the glory!
I’m 42 and was saved at age 18. I remember not “feeling” a change like everyone else that testified that night. I actually went back to the preacher and wanted to make sure that I was saved because I didn’t “feel” saved. He said its not a feeling, it’s faith. I have struggled over the years because in a southern baptist church one of the favorite sermons is the one where if you fell into sin after you said you were saved then you probably wouldn’t saved. We recently have a new pastor and after hearing some of his sermons I started yet again to doubt my salvation. Why? Because I fell away from God. Why? Well after some soul searching and reading, I came to realize that I had been abused by a deacon and another person in the church as a teenager and child. I had difficulty attending church as I had an abusive husband right out of high school who made my life difficult to live as holy as I wanted to. I slowly got out of church and went down a bad road. God brought be back like the prodigal son but due to my backslidden condition I thought well I may not have gotten saved. I read this article and realized that I’m not the only one and that I did call upon the name of the lord and that my salvation is through faith and not a feeling. Feelings are fickle. They will let you down. Faith is a rock we can lean on. Thanks for the article. Exactly what I needed to read.
Linda, have you ever heard of religious obsessive compulsive disorder? I believe many of your respondents have this disorder. It is a brain abnormality and it is sometimes called the “doubting disease”.
I believe I have religious OCD (I was diagnosed with OCD by a psychiatrist one time.) I have struggled with doubt for many years. I have accepted Jesus numerous times. This is one characteristic of religious OCD. People with ROCD also struggle with evil thoughts and an over sensitive conscience. I have had these characteristics as well.
When it flares up I go into depression. I am on some medication. (Depression is also often physical in origin.) I am in one, now.
When people with ROCD get into such a state, they may have an aversion to the Bible, prayer, and church. (I have read a lot about ROCD, and people’s testimonials about their struggles.) I have experienced this, myself. It is all in the chemical imbalance.
I still claim Jesus as my Savior and Lord, and have accepted His forgiveness via the cross some years ago.
But I still have doubts, and it seems to get worse as I get older. (I am in my 60’s). People with ROCD have an addiction to seeking reassurance. They are (through no fault of their own) often resistive to things that may help other people. Despite this, some do overcome ROCD. I am still seeking. Your commentary on relying on God’s promises is encouraging. Please pray for me.
Your thoughts?.
I’m not familiar with this but chemistry can affect how we view things.
I would just say that God can overcome anything. And that we can choose to believe something even if we don’t feel it. I think that’s a big part of the problem – we rely so much on our feelings. Do I “feel” saved? When what we really need to focus on is God’s Word and His promises.
I am 34, and what you described is me to a “t”. Overactive conscience, assurance seeking, etc…Obsessive to the point of tears and depression.
I got saved in Sunday school when I was 13. I loved Jesus was concerned about people’s salvation prayed that people get saved. My first question that would come in my mind when people died where they will be going heaven or hell. My faith in Jesus was very strong until the day I got baptised at 17. When Satan attacked me very badly. Thought start coming in my mind when did u get saved u can’t remember the date, did u mean what u said, has ur life change. Then I began getting worried it was haunting me that if I died I would be In hell so I started praying the salvation prayed so many times that I’ve lost count. 20 years later I’m still struggling I keep praying the salvation prayer but Satan says to me if u have doubted again about it salvation so ur not saved. I have no peace these thought haunt me. I 100 per believe Jesus has died for me he has forgiven me he rise up for me. I have received him in my heart. Whenever I sin he spk to me I confess my sins he give me peace. Whatever I gave through he spk to me through the bible and meets my needs. I have a personal relationship with him. I love him so so much. But why is Satan attacking me u are not saved y do the thoughts come in my head when I believe Jesus has died for me and accepted me. Please pray for me and please give me advice how I can overcome this. I came across this article which has shown me so many people struggle with salvation I’ve started to read the promise as u have suggested. I just want to grow with Jesus instead of worrying all my life am I saved. Please help amen..
You say that many Christian teens deal with this, and I’m sure of that, but it’s not just teens. I’m 39 years old and I’ll have been saved a year in Oct. Your testimony is almost word for word what I’ve been through; except I have crippling shame for 38 years of sin and a tendency towards self loathing. Easy way to say it is that GOD forgives me but I struggle to forgive me. I know I’m saved but I haven’t grown as I should. This is a blessing to me to see someone else openly have struggled like I am. Thank you.
I’m still having doubts, especially when I’m in a position where I could die (driving, flying) and though I have prayed the prayer of Salvation and believe I’m saved, Satan loves to throw the verses at me that say, “people say they love God, but when they get to heaven He will say “I never knew you”. Then I start doubting again saying, what if I think I’m saved but when I die, He will say this to me. Many times I have been alone and think, maybe the Lord has returned and I’ve been left behind. I have been hysterical at times when I can’t find my husband or my Mom, and then I doubt even more. I was raised to believe that life is like walking on eggshells and every sin I commit I’m condemned for and won’t go to heaven if I forget to ask forgiveness. It is a vicious cycle. I’m keeping your verses close to me to help me claim them, not in fear, but in victory.
I have been a Christian for about a year now. I find myself doubting so much. I cry out desperately to the Lord to help me know where I stand with Him. Sometimes I feel like such a fraud because I think even though I proclaim God, I must not be saved due to my constant inner torment over my standing with God. Then I get so despaired about it I start the cycle of self pity which leaves me feeling unable to DO anything for God, which makes me think I’m disobeying him so I must not be saved. All of this is just so exhausting. Please pray for peace in my life. I was just reading a verse on another blog which was encouraging. 1 John 3:20
Reading many of these articles I rarely seen one that talked bout the drawing of God through the Holy Spirit to Salvation. I guess this happened to me in 2010 but don’t know if I was drawn, heavlily convicted, thinking I didn’t do enough or make it public or was just nervous to go up even though I’ve asked Jesus in my heart and forgive me privately 100’s of times through tracts like “This was your Life” and radio programs. I had a love for social drinking, wasn’t close to God, and on that day I just ran fwd. Didn’t feel a thing afterward and the preacher asked me if the Lord saved me? I said yes, only because I asked Him to and assumed He did but doubted before I even walked out of the church. Made MANY professions later, still social drank but not lately, been fwd many times and hoping I would feel a drawing and not just going out of fear and having as much faith as I could muster up that He would save me/assure me and comfort me. Never felt different. Its been a roller coaster and Im still not sure. Asked Him to save me last night here at work, got on my Knees and “settled it” I don’t like hearing dirty jokes or telling them, hate hearing “GD” wereas I used to tolerate them, hated to gossip and would catch myself. Don’t wanna do anything wrong against God but Muslims and Mormons can do that and they’re very lost and don’t know it or feel concerned. The other night is the scary thing. Even though the pastor wasnt’; preaching on Hell and salvation but “hearing from God” I felt a light stomach burn for a sec then went away. I wanted this feeling cause its only happened a few times before and I would hesitate on it til end of sermon and run to alter then and ask God about it, take care of it, save me if it was my calling and convicting power and other night I hesitated again. Its not as if I blew it off totally and walked out of the tent meeting in that condition. I’ve also felt down and depressed when I hear bout preachers wives getting saved and long time members of the church that I would visit like “well this don’t help, how would they know and how were they not saved at an early age. Ran to alter at end of sermon and asked God to save me again and believed He would do it although doubt would still linger. People and pastors tell me simple faith in Jesus and conviction would be way more than that(small stomach thing) and that God is not looking at a watch…ok come on, come on, opp…times up, you missed it. May never draw you again. Its killing me inside and I don’t know what to do. I need all the prayer I can get and any advice. Please reply. I keep hearing the devil messes with us and knows how to do it but how can I be so sure???
My pastor Alistair Begg would say that the fact that you’re even asking these questions is an indication that God IS at work in you drawing you to Himself. Romans 3:11 & other verses say “No one seeks after God.” So you don’t need to sit there and wonder whether or not the Spirit is drawing you. If you have a desire to know God and be saved, He’s drawing you.
I’m not sure if that’s what you’re asking or not. But regardless, you need to look to God and His promises. You are way overthinking it. And I don’t mean that in a condescending way at all – I’ve totally been there. I’ve worked myself in circles overthinking whether or not I had enough faith. But the key is what God has promised. It’s not about the perfect timing or how your stomach feels or whether you go forward or not. It’s about what God has promised: For whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ & you will be saved. If you’ve honestly called on Him, then every time the doubts come, go to His Word. Read it and believe it. Keep going back to His Word over and over and choose to believe Him even when you don’t feel it
I was raised in a Christian house and asked the Lord to save me very young. I attended a day camp and was asked to raise my hand if I wanted to be saved. I raised my hand after seeing others do the same and followed their example. I didn’t know what exactly I was doing but since i have asked many times over to be saved and accepted into God’s kingdom and presence after I die. Still, I am now much older and past my teen years but I have never felt good on the issue. Mainly because I am a strggling drug addict who has unsuccessfully found long term sobriety. Im sure many will read that last fact and think to themselves im undeserving, I feel this way too. However thru out my addiction I haven’t ever been able to shake my need for God and his love. It’s never left my side, even while using I pray and read the Bible. I absolutely feel the gap between us due to my on going sin, but I’ll never stop trying to fix it by finding recovery. Everyone sins, mine just happens to be extremely damaging.
One thing I cannot wrap my mind around is messing up my chance to live forever in God’s presence. While separated from here on Earth, we cannot grasp the true need for him our souls crave. I believe after death this need will be unclouded by earthly distractions and we will yearn to be near him with all of our hearts. My true fear is to hear “depart from me I never knew you”.
This is so important to me, so why isn’t my lifestyle reflecting this?!? I drive myself nuts and im truly sick of my own choices….
I suppose this Bible verse says it all:
For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. 16 But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good. 17 So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. 18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. 19 For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. 20 But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.
21 I find then the [b]principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. 22 For I joyfully concur with the law of God [c]in the inner man, 23 but I see a different law in [d]the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner [e]of the law of sin which is in my members. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from [f]the body of this death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.
Hi Kristi,
I would encourage you to read the book The Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life by Hannah Whitall Smith. She addresses some of the questions you are asking and talks about how to find true victory not by trying harder but by allowing God to change us from the inside out.
Thank you for your post. I will find victory by reading and reading God’s promises. The devil has been working overtime in my life and I’m giving him the boot:)
I have doubted my salvation again and again I constantly sin and there is one sin the I don’t want to do then do it and hate myself for it. I think am I really a Christian of i do this and have doubts and questions lead to questions and I still have my doubts but I’m alot better after this
Keep in mind that your salvation is not based on your behavior. It’s based on what Christ did for you. Period. Don’t listen to how you feel. Listen to what you know to be true based on the word of God.
After our salvation we still have our flesh trying to get us to sin, but we also have the Spirit who is able to give us victory. It’s a war between the two, and we must learn to walk in the Spirit to find that victory.
I really want to know i am saved. I am 39 and have doubted ever since being a child. I am scared my heart is to hard because I wllifully have sinned so much….even though I knew better. Please pray also that i can let go of pride and accept gods will for my life because I have a disability and life is very hard from it—–and its hard to believe that it is God’s god plan. I know it isn’t just praying a prayer but now that I’ve lost my childlike faith I am not sure if i can be brought back to that place of trust. Please pray I will have assurance and new life in him.
Praying for you, Crystal. I was reading Hannah Whitall Smith’s book A Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life, and she addresses this problem of not having enough faith. She explained that this is the wrong way to look at it. Faith is not about us – it’s about the object of our faith. When we say “I don’t have faith,” we need to finish the statement. WHAT do we not have faith in? We are really saying “I don’t have faith in God.” Changes how we view it, right? Too often we look at faith as a feeling or something we have to work up to. But really, it’s a choice. Will I choose to believe God or not? Doesn’t matter how I feel, what I’m wondering about. Just a choice – do I choose to believe God or choose not to believe God?
Thanks for this article! I have been doubting my salvation for years now, I’ve walked the ill and confessed Jesus as my Lord & Savior many of times, & meant it every time, but a few days later I would find myself doubting again. After reading the scriptures & testimonys that have been shared here I now realize that it has just been Satan robbing me of my Joy all these years. I will definitely rest easy now knowing that I’m truly saved and that if I died right now I’d be in Heaven for eternity (Praise God)! I was also raised in a Christian home, went to a Southern Baptist Church for many years ( I’m 17 now and me, my sister, & my parents have become Independent Baptist recently) , my mom was a Sunday School Teacher, my dad the song leader, and I just naturally adapted the Christian life, looked, talked, and walked like a Christian, but I was as lost as lost could be, but PRAISE GOD 1 day he got a hold of me and I gave my heart and life to Jesus never been the same since! Thank you so much for this article and these testimonies that have been shared here, glad to know I’m not the only person in the world who has struggled with this doubt. Blessings to all!
I am 34years old, married father of one. I was raised in a Baptist church, so like many here, didn’t have the shocking black to white conversion story others have. I have, on and off, doubted my salvation for the better part of 20 years. I believe I got saved at a young age. I’ve had passion for Jesus on and off, times of fire, but mostly indifference. I 100% believe Jesus has spoken directly to me on multiple occasions, but I still doubt.
I’m to the point where I want to give up. Like “was I elected to be saved in the first place??” The feeling is so powerful I can almost physically feel it. My heart is pounding, my thoughts race, I want to crawl out of my skin. It’s literally unbearable to the point of tears and depression. I’ve prayed to God many times for peace on this subject, and called out to Him countless times, but can never seem to attain any sort of lasting peace on this point. It’s like a rollercoaster with no middle ground. I’m either soaring on Jesus, or in a pit of despair. I see other Christians basking in the depth of their relationship with Jesus, treasuring every morsel of truth they can get, and it pierces my heart. I struggle with Obedience, and that just adds to the insurmountable feeling of guilt and condemnation. My Christian friends and my wife don’t understand how I am still going through this struggle after all these years (with one friend stating “You’re still struggling with this?”), and almost get irritated when I constantly speak about it. I feel utterly and completely alone, as if rejected by God Himself.
I do love Jesus, but I still doubt. God have mercy on me on my soul, I would appreciate your prayers.
Hi Linda it’s Ashely again. The guy. The prison guard and army national guard. Being around other guards, inmates, and other army personnel my goodness I feel like a Saint cause it’s just dirty potty flith all the time. But that gives no hope at all. Just a glimpse of a lost world without Christ and I know none of these guys would be in this site wondering or even in a church period. and I don’t exactly get sick of hearin” if your concerned then it’s not too late or your saved and it’s the devil messing with you”I mean yeah it’s some comfort for a day maybe but no inner peace no inner spiritual comfort that I am so looking for. I was Methodist for 32 years. Most of my family is Methodist or Presbyterian or some contemporary church deal and they don’t exactly preach sin and Hell n conviction and I can’t talk to my mom about it. I’m sure she’s lost and so is my sister n niece n nephew and they just think I’m crazy but they don’t realize this is all real Christianity that i listen to and attend and not some watered down easy listening deal or a woman preacher.
I believe I sounded somewhat confusing in my last message and you did the best you could to help me. I’ve heard too many stories of people who have prayed for forgiveness repentance and giving their hearts to the Lord many times only to feel no different and even more lost. Just this morning, I’m nightshift and an insomniac I listened to testamomies were a man just gave Jesus his sin and put all faith in the cross and it worked so I pleaded that to God, meant it, prayed for faith and help…slowly coming out of it but I know How I’ll feel later.
Another thing I wanted to ask about is dreams. If you NEVER dream about Jesus or anything about Jesus except last night I dreamed I got up off an alter and felt no different and woke up shaking. Does you or anyone have info on dreams and how they relate? I know certain food or medicine can make us have jacked up dreams of nothing, or stupid stuff but to never dream bout peace with Jesus at all?? Please write a list of every name on this board that’s hurting and place it on the alter at ur church. Prayer changes things and I need it worse than ever.
I would encourage you not to focus on your feelings. Your emotions & feelings can lie to you – you simply cannot trust them. What you can trust is God & His promises. Focus on what you know to be true. Choose to believe what God has said. The feelings should come in time – but using your feelings as a test for whether or not God is at work is a big mistake, and probably the reason you feel so confused & frustrated.
As for dreams, I am certainly no dream expert. But once again – why would you focus on dreams (which are probably one of the most unreliable things in the world) instead of what God has said in His Word (which is completely reliable). I cannot really remember any specific dreams I’ve had about Jesus, but I know I’m His child based on what the Bible says and on my relationship with Him through prayer.
Hope that helps…
I have been struggling with salvation assurance in different ways off and on. I have days or moments when I worship in the car or church or wherever when I am in awe and know I love the Lord. Other times though and still I wonder if my love for Him is only selfish and I just love His gifts. I also struggle with passages that seem to put Christians in a place of overwhelming spiritual ability. Sometimes when I read Paul’s letters and all the other epistles I am scared because I am not as strong as them. It seems like they are being led by the spirit in everything. I live a normal life I feel like for the most part. Where is the tremendous fruit that scripture talks about? Where are the converts? Where is the dramatic life change? I hear Christians talk about sanctification being a process, but anytime “sanctification appears in the Bible it seems like being sanctified is almost equivalent with justification. Why does shedding sin in my life seem like such a process, but Romans 7 is about the only verse where sin seems to be in any NT Christians life in the Bible. I don’t understand why I’m like this if I’m a Christian? Can anyone help as well as pray for me?
Hi Jacob. I’d recommend the book A Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life by Hannah Whitall Smith. I think you’d find it very helpful.
Thank you guys so much!!! Your testimonies have been so helpful and God is really using all of you!! I’m 15 and this year in January I fell down to my kness and cried out to Jesus and asked Him to forgive me of my sin and to save me. The life that I was living before was absolutely rebellious against God. I had a filthy mouth and I remember being very disobedient, dishonest, disloyal, and disrespectful towards my parents, other family members, friends, enemies, and yes, God. Not only that but i was hanging out with the wrong people and i was doing the wrong things. I remember being heavily addicted to lust and video games and so on. I was lazy, ignorant, and also arrogant. Didn’t care for school or anything like that. I remember the night when I cried out to Jesus. Some of you might think this is a weird place for all of this to happen but it is what it is. One night I was in the shower and I remember when I got in the shower I just stood there and started to think about my life and the way I was living it. I felt like at that moment God opened up my eyes and for once I could see that the things I was doing was wrong and sinful. I grew up in a Christian family so I knew about God and Jesus but I never lived for them or had a relationship with them. But anyways, I started to think about Jesus, and I started to think about how He is so loving and forgiving. I began to weep, I fell down to my knees and Cried out to Him asking for forgiveness of my sins and to save me!! Guys im telling you I could feel the Lord’s presence, and it was such a peaceful and comforting presence. I could also feel all of the burdens being lifted off of my shoulders. Do you guys know how the Bible says, you are to be “born again”, well im gonna to yell i felt like I was being born again in that moment. I could feel it physically, mentally, emotionally, and yes, spiritually!!! After that I really started to live for Christ!! I was reading the Bible and praying and talking to others about Him. I had this deep desire and passion of wanting to get closer to Jesus!!! But then one day i fell into the temptation of lust and ended up watching pornography. I remember after i had opened my heart up to Christ and invited Him to be my Lord and Savior, I went for several moths without viewing pornography. So after i had committed this sin i can remember just being so mad and upset at myself because of what I had done, I can actually remember at one point I almost puked because i felt so disgusted at myself. As time went on I began to view it more and more and it had now entered this new life that Christ has blessed me with. I knew it was wrong and sinful and every time i comitted that sin or any other sin i would confess it to Jesus and ask for His forgiveness. Then the doubts about my salvation started to rush in. I can remember feeling like I was saved one day and the next day feeling condemned, and it still feels like this sometimes. Eventually I got baptized because i felt like the Lord was calling on me to do so, so I did. When i got baptized i was hoping that all of this doubt and also the struggle with lust would leave me, but it didn’t. Guys I can’t tell you how many time I’ve asked Christ to save me and forgive me ever since this started to happen. If there was a guinness world record of how many times somebody has said the sinners prayer i would probably be one of the people, and think about it this just started happening about 5 or 6 months ago. But anyways, my struggle of lust has been dying down and today I started to have doubts and I cam across this blog and it has really helped me and also taught me!! I will be praying for you guys and If you guys will, please do the same for me!! These doubts are not fun to go through so please help. Also if you would please leave some word of advice on what else I can do!! Thank you and may the Lord Jesus be with you all!!!
Where to begin? God knows those who are His children. We have a baby book. In it our names are written and the date of our physical birth. So look at it like thus…The Lord also has one and we may not know the exact date of our redemption but HE knows. He is the only one who matters. If one accepts that Jesus the Son of God died on the cross paying the price for our sin and
rose again you are saved. That is the power of the holy spirit that you are turning to God. Phil 2:13
I have actually been so incredibly frustrated and depressed because here’s the problem……you have one group of Christians telling you that when you ask Jesus to save you and accept him as your savior that you are saved. That he will change you but you will still struggle with sin but he will forgive you. Then you have the other group of Christians who say that most people won’t be saved, that when you are saved there is an automatic change and that you CAN stop sinning. They are also to careful to point out that if you are not doing everything God commands 24/7 for the rest of your life you will go to hell. Then you have the Christians who are in between the two extremes. For example just today I was researching if you should stay with an unbelieving spouse…. one person preached that you should stay with your spouse because you could bring him to Christ, and then just a few clicks away there’s another person saying that God hates it when people stay with an unbelieving spouse more than he hates divorce. People like to tell you….well you have to read your Bible and listen to God. Well what good is it if there are a thousand different interpretations and opinions of how to translate what God is saying? Who do you listen to? I just feel doomed, like I’m never going to get it right. My heart mostly tells me that God being a harsh and demanding God is probably the more likely. I’ve been reading the Old Testament and it makes you feel like God is just itching to punish you. So yeah, I struggle with knowing if I’m saved or not, I really don’t know what to think anymore. This whole mess has been bothering me so much that it’s literally making me feel sick to my stomach, I have tremors, I cry my eyes out and feel like I’m on the verge of a panic attack. I mean is this really how I’m supposed to feel? I just don’t know.
It can be very confusing, can’t it. But here’s the thing – We can trust the Bible. It is God’s Word to us. Yes, there are many interpretations. But not all interpretations are created equal. What I mean is that some interpretations twist the Word of God – or ignore parts of the Bible. Or are a lot of opinion mixed with one verse taken out of context.
On the other hand, there are those who diligently study the Word of God – not with their own agenda or opinion – but genuinely seeking to study & understand it the way God intended us to. We must be like that – studying for ourselves, and listening to those who diligently study as well.
I’d highly recommend listening to Truth for Life by Alistair Begg. His preaching and teaching is so Biblical and will be helpful to you. Always look to the Bible for yourself – but he will greatly help you in your study. Here’s the website: https://www.truthforlife.org/ (There’s a podcast, too)
Thanks so much for answering me. I am so desperate and need help and most people discourage me instead of encourage me. You have definitely encouraged me.
Amanda, God knows you cannot possibly do everything right 24/7 which is why He sent his son in our place on the cross. Pray to ask the Lord to convict your heart when you sin & be quick to repent earnestly. He’ll forgive you & then you & He will work together to rid your life of that particular sin & then you’ll move on. If we were convicted of all of our sins at one time, it would be terribly overwhelming and the Lord knows this. So He works on us a little at a time. Pertaining to an unbelieving spouse, well – it should probably have been addressed before marriage, but since it wasn’t, it is not the Lord’s desire to abandon your marriage, but to consistently pray for your spouse to come to Jesus. Do not harp on him – won’t do a bit of good and may push him further away. But love him and allow him to see Jesus in your actions and in your words. 🙂 I would suggest you go online and see if you can find a bible study called Bible Study Fellowship (BSF) near you. It’s an amazing study done all around the world at the same time. I think it would be beneficial to you (and everyone else for that matter). Give yourself some slack – God’s got you in this!! Blessings, friend!
Hello, My name is Chelsea. I was baptized twice at my Apostolic Church and Now at my Protestant Church when I was 10. When I got baptized it wasn’t just about the water, but I really wanted to follow Jesus. From then on, I have had a passion and a fire for Jesus, he has been with me through the fire and the rain. He put it on me and a friend’s heart to start a prayer group at school, and he has helped me to endure, He gives me a reason to sing and a reason to rejoice. I don’t have his peace like I should, I go to bed worrying, throughout the day worrying. I think if I wasn’t his, he would not have given me a desire to do what is pleasing in his sight and a passion and a desire for him, that only he can give. Please lift me up in prayer, I can pray as well, but I just don’t have peace, his peace, and I want to be rest assured.
I struggled a long time with this. I got saved when I was seven but later on I struggled with doubts and would ask Christ in my heart over and over again. I found out that I have ocd. One of my favorite verse is john 6:47 “I assure you, if you believe in me, you have eternal life.”
I grew up attending a Lutheran church. When I was 14 we started going to a Baptist church. On a Sunday morning when I was 15 I realized that I was not saved. I only thought I was going to Heaven. I knew I needed to be saved. I talked with my pastor and he had me recite a prayer (accept Jesus as my savior) the following Wednesday. I felt so relieved! Then I knew I was going to Heaven!
Now I’m 19. Lately I’ve been struggling (am I really saved? even though I didn’t know a lot about faith and Christianity 4 years ago did that count?) Thoughts like this have been going through my head. And I also kept repeating the prayer of Salvation. I would have moments of relief then those thoughts would come creeping back into my mind.
I don’t want to believe Satan’s lies!
I’m really glad I read this blog/post! I need to read those verses and grow deeper in my relationship with God and trust Him!! And don’t make salvation hard. If I asked God to save me, then He did. I don’t need to doubt Him!
Thank you. Praying for all of you and please pray for myself as well!! It’s comforting knowing that I’m not the only one going through this! God bless, everything will be okay 🙂
Dear God,
I pray that none of us believe Satan’s lies! And that we have Your peace!! Amen
Hi everyone. I’ll get right to it.
I have seen HELL at a very young age. I was around 10 or 11 when it happened. Something gently lifted my head off of my pillow and then “Boom”!! Instantly in hell. Flames all around me and my mouth was stiched up. I was watching myself from above. Then I saw a chair. Then suddenly, the devil with those 2 ugly horns appeared faster than the speed of light. He sat and started laughing at me intensely. I have never seen someone laughing like that in my life. I couldn’t talk so in my head, I asked the Lord to take me out ASAP. Luckily, God didn’t let me feel the fire or any pain as others would describe hell, but it was dark and the only thing I saw was Flames all around me and the devil himself. Scariest thing anyone could ever imagine. Then when God took me back to my room, my head was still tilted up off of my pillow, then I started to hear groaning or moaning sounds around my room while my eyes were open. After 15 seconds or so of it, My head was let back down gently. You know, I have always wondered until this day why I got that dream at such an early age. I assumed that God was letting me know that hey “ there is a hell buddy and I don’t want you to go there” or for me to warn the world. Just a bit confusing to me. I prayed prayed and prayed to know what the EXACT meaning was for that vision. Then…..years and years later, Jesus appears to me in my barracks room one night. I was in the army at this time. It was pitch dark and I was about to fall asleep when a bright white face with perfect curly hair appeared on the corner of my wall. It was a bright outline of a face with perfect curly hair. I could remember the waves coming down the sides of the head. Seemed like it was inside a picture frame. It went from one corner to my room to the next, slowly, then to the next, then he stopped at my FRONT DOOR. Right above it. Then boom, disappeared. I was working for the Lord as a chaplain assistant in the army and I know I was already saved and asked God in my life, etc. keep that in mind. I’m a sinner of course. But that vision had me confused also. Was God saying he’s protecting me, or saying that he’s at the door waiting for me, or? I just don’t know for sure. Then after all that, years later, being in sin of course, I got spiritually attacked numerous times by demons in my room mostly at bed time or later. Many times you guys. Scary stuff. Won’t go into detail. God allowed me to see these demonic attacks in my life to probably show me that I had been allowing different types of sin to manifest itself, therefore making way for spiritual attacks. I have seen a few more visions about the rapture as well. Recently, a woman that has been praying for me for many years had a vision of a male voice speaking to her about ME. She said she knew it was God himself. She is a pastor by the way. She said that God said that I would be mighty to the pulling down of strong holds for Jesus. That I would teach people how to overcome strong holds. That I would help the homeless and the hopeless, people that tried scuicide and many others to come to God, etc. I know God has a call on my life. I just have to walk in that path 100% and stop letting the worldly things hold me back. With everything I have said in this message, please pray for me you guys. I really want to figure this out and get a different perspective. WhenGod showed me only Hell and not Heaven, that always had me thinking that I was destined to go to hell in the future when I die. I worry too much over this. If anyone can shed some light I would really appreciate it. God Bless you
Praying for you. Please keep in mind that visions, dreams, what others say they heard about you, etc – all of these are unreliable. They might mean something – they might not. They might be from God. They might be from Satan. They might be our own minds working overtime. But the Word of God is 100% reliable, so we must base our beliefs on what the Word says, more than on personal experiences. Hope that helps a bit…
I am much older than most of those who have expressed their struggles with doubt regarding their salvation. My heart weeps, because I too have had seasons of insecurity. Yes that’s true, age has nothing to do with these insecure thoughts we all have them. These thoughts can originate from the soul of man the mind, will, and emotions or simply an attack from our enemy Satan. The soul or flesh does not produce the life of God. It’s our spirit that is born again because the Holy Spirit takes up residence at the moment you are saved. He communes with our spirit. The Spirit of truth will guide you into all truth. John 16:13 God is not a man, that He should lie,
Nor a son of man, that He should repent.
Has He said, and will He not do?
Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? The Bible expresses that we should gaze into the perfect law of liberty. This tells us who we are in Christ. For example: I am alive with Christ. Eph. 2:5 I am Holy and without blame before Him in love. 1Peter 1:16 Eph 1:4 the Idea is to gaze into the mirror of God’s word, that reflection is who we are. Trying to overcome doubts in our own strength will produce nothing but unbelief. So when these doubts arise run to God’s word and be set free!
I’m 52, I know I’ve been to the alter and asked Christ, into my heart I’ve even reaffirmed and asked Him to retake my heart and show me how to live for HIM. I TEACH SUNDAY SCHOOL but when my own children are disrespectful and hurtful I feel as if I’ve failed to show in my life God’s amazing love. I doubt my own salvation . I know God lives me and I know I fail him daily. Please pray that I won’t doubt my salvation
I am 15 years old and have been doubting my salvation for probably seven months now. It’s terrifying to think that I could go to hell one day if I’m not saved. I know that the Bible says to repent and trust in Jesus in order to have eternal life. In my heart I feel like I believe that this true, but with all of the concerns I have been having lately, I’m not really sure what to think. I get easily confused by reading verses such as the Repent or Perish (Luke 13:1-9) and Faith Without Works Is Dead (James 2:14-26) verses because they make it sound like I have to do good works to be saved. I don’t know if these verses have brought this upon me but I am always super cautious about sinning. For example, if I decide to take a break from completing my homework, I might have a voice inside of me that says, “Am I procrastinating right now? Procrastination is a sin.” Then I will choose to continue my homework or continue with my break. I may be trying to be good to be saved when I do this or merely trying not to sin because I know it’s wrong. All I want is to be saved the way the Bible speaks of and not by works. In addition, I often doubt the existence of God despite there being tons of evidence for it. This makes me more afraid because if I don’t believe that God exists, then I must not be saved. I have talked to my Christian family about me doubting my salvation and they all think that I am saved. I still don’t know what to think. Is there any way that you may be able to help me?
Hello, one thing that may be helpful is to realize that our salvation isn’t about our faith. It is all about Jesus & what He has done. We should not look at our faith at all – we must look at the object of our faith. Here’s what I mean: When I was struggling with this, I would go around and around in my head about whether or not I had enough faith. “If I’m not sure I have enough faith, doesn’t that mean I don’t have enough faith?” It was an impossible nightmare – but I was missing the point.
The point is that is that it’s not about how much faith we have but Who we put our faith in. We cannot look at our faith and say “Do I have enough?” but look at Jesus and say, “He is the one I am trusting.”
We might often find ourselves saying “I don’t know if I have enough faith.” But let’s finish that statement. “I don’t believe I have enough faith in _______.” What goes in that blank? God. We are really saying “I don’t believe God.” Now is that true? Do you believe God or not?
It is not a matter of mustering up enough faith to believe. It is not a matter of feeling like you believe. It’s not even a matter of never having a doubt. It is a choice. I’ll say it again – it is a CHOICE to believe what God says. To give your life to Him.
Whether you ever have a doubt doesn’t affect WHO you are putting your faith in. Your salvation never has & never will rest on YOUR faith but on the ONE in whom you are putting your faith – and He is as 100% sure and reliable.
So don’t look at your faith. Don’t look at your emotions. Look at your will (the will is who you really are). And choose to believe Him. Choose to look to Him every time you doubt. Choose to trust in what you know to be true every time your feelings tell you otherwise. And pray that the Holy Spirit will work in your heart & confirm His truths to you.
You might find the chapter Difficulty Concerning Doubts from the book A Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life to be helpful.
Hi, thank you so much for helping me with that. I’m sorry but I’m still confused after what you told me. Do you mind if I ask you two more questions? Here they are:
How do I choose to trust in Jesus even though I doubt His and God’s existence often?
Why does the the Bible say that we need to repent or perish if we are supposed to trust in Jesus to be saved?
Q1: I’m sorry if I was confusing. It’s hard to understand where you’re coming from based on just one comment on a blog post. The answer here depends where you are. Do you believe but simply have doubts from time to time? Or are you not sure if you believe? If it’s the former, then you need to simply focus on your belief. Choose to trust, and pray and turn to the Bible when you doubt. But if you’re not sure if you believe in the first place, that is totally different. You have not yet believed. In that case, I encourage you to read the Bible and to also listen to Bible preaching like that of Truth for Life (found at http://www.truthforlife.org.) Listen and consider. Talk to people that you know about it. Pray that God will help you understand. At some point, though, it will still be a CHOICE to believe or not believe.
In either case, belief is a choice, not a feeling.
Q2) I’m not sure I completely understand your question. But the Bible is clear that part of believing/trusting in Jesus is repenting. To sum it up simply, we are all fallen. We sin. We cannot reach God on our own. Jesus came, lived the perfect life we couldn’t live, and died to pay the penalty for our sin. Because of Him, we can be declared righteous – based on His merit, not ours. But in order to receive that righteousness, we must repent – that means to admit the wrong and turn to Him, turning our back on the wrong – and believe on Him. To repent doesn’t mean that we can somehow clean ourselves up or make ourselves better. It means that we turn from our wrong, believe/trust in Him, and ask Him to change us. And He will.
Hope that helps a bit. Feel free to ask any follow-up questions.
I Peter 2:24 sums it up well: Who Himself [Jesus] bore our sins in His own body on the tree [cross], that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.
Thanks for getting back to me. I would answer this to what you said in question one: “I’m not sure if I believed in Jesus to save me in the first place.” But why does that mean that I have not yet believed?
I ask Jesus many times that I can be saved just in case I’m not already saved. I also ask that if I’m trying to be good to be saved that I can stop doing that because I know that won’t save me. Regarding what I have to do to be saved, I know that I’m sorry for my sins and that I probably trust in Jesus to save me. It’s just very confusing to me and I’m not sure if I am doing it right.
I will still check out the website you shared with me (:
This really helped me rest easy tonight. I was close to tears but I still remember that night when I was 9 or 10 I asked Jesus to save me and I believed on his name. I am going to heaven.
I was not raised in a church. We were poor and didn’t have any way to go to church. My husband died in 2006. I was left with nobody. We did not have children. My nephew began to preach at the age of 13. He asked me to go to his church. I did. I was old when I got saved. Had no knowledge of what I was supposed to do next. I am now 66 years old and I still doubt my salvation. Other people says they feel like the weight of the world is lifted off of them. I never felt like that. I am having a problem getting sanctified and filled with the Holy Ghost. Is it because I am really not saved?. I worry about that all the time. Please someone reply to this. I am so scared I am going to die without having what I am supposed to have. Help me please.
To those who are still struggling, I recommend listening to sound Bible teaching like that found here:
https://www.truthforlife.org/
Listen a lot, let it sink into your heart & mind, and see how God uses it to change you.
A preacher names Milton Taylor said one time “the devil never kicks a dead horse” someone else told me another time that “thieves do not break in and steal”. The Bible talks about how the devil steals, kills and destroys. Was this a concern to you before you asked God to save you? Or did this worry happen after you asked for salvation? The Bible says God is NOT the author of confusion. I know what your going through i am there myself have been for 13 years. But i know before i asked for salvation i was never confused about this, never thought about it, never worried, never had these thoughts or concerns. I truly believe it is the devil. he knows you, he has studied people like you for 6000 years. he knows what bothers you. As long as we let him be will continue to torture you because he knows he can’t have your soul. So he bothers our minds. We have got to put our foot down and stand on Gods promises. I as well need to do the same. I hope this helps!!!!
I struggled with the worry and fear”Am I really saved ” and kept being tormented by doubt. I said the prayer of repentance over and over incase. Then the Holy spirit spoke to me and said it’s not just about the prayer it’s how you walk with me. Hope this helps.
I struggled with the doubt and fear of “Am I really saved “. I used to repeat the prayer again and again just incase. Then one day the Holy spirit spoke to me and said “it’s not just about saying the prayer it’s how you walk with me “. Yes that’s right I thought. Hope this helps someone.
This is good to read. It is good to be reminded that salvation and sanctification are His work. We just need to believe, receive and abide. It is good to be reminded to eat up those words in the passages shared here, to hungrily feed on them and rejoice in them. Then you are free to walk in Faith, without fear and serve the Lord and overcome the world because HE overcame it for you. What a WONDERFUL God we have!
I really needed this! I’ve been struggling with doubt about my salvation for longer than I can remember. I grew up going to a baptist church all of my life. I’ve went down at my church numerous times & prayed Jesus to save me & I’ve been baptised 3 times but never really lived for Him. Fast forward to April of 2017. I finally told my wife that I’ve been struggling with doubt about my salvation, fear, emptiness etc. I spoke with her father about it who I’m so thankful for him. He’s a very spirit filled Godly man who sent me some sermons by Paul Washer & Francis Chan, but made my doubts worse as Paul Washer is against the sinners prayer. Over the next few weeks i spent hours in his Word seeking assurance of my salvation. I spent many nights in my closet for hours sobbing to God. I read the parable of the sower & felt like it was God Showing me I was the thorny rocky soil that produces no fruit. So on April 27th 2017 I was searching the Internet but Repentance & some how came across Deut 30
It is not kept in heaven, so distant that you must ask, ‘Who will go up to heaven and bring it down so we can hear it and obey?’ It is not kept beyond the sea, so far away that you must ask, ‘Who will cross the sea to bring it to us so we can hear it and obey?’ No, the message is very close at hand; it is on your lips and in your heart so that you can obey it. “Now listen! Today I am giving you a choice between life and death, between prosperity and disaster. For I command you this day to love the Lord your God and to keep his commands, decrees, and regulations by walking in his ways.
“Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him. This is the key to your life.
Deuteronomy 30:12-16, 19-20 NLT. I truly felt that was God telling me that Salvation is close at hand it’s is in my heart & on my lips. It’s not too distant for me. I called my step mom to tell her what I had read & I began weeping & I said to her ” I choose life” so we talked a little more & she prayed for me. That evening I was driving home & Natalie grants song ” clean” came on the radio. I pulled over & began sobbing & looked up at the sky & said ” God Save me”. I felt a release for a very short time & was excited about what God was showing me. I decided to get baptized a 4th time since i felt thats what God was telling me to do. But then anxiety hit harder than its ever hit, I ended up being on anxiety medication because my doubt was so great it but me into depression, I was sobbing all the time. Although it has helped I still struggle alot, I too had days I was terrified of going to church because I always felt so convicted but I would always kneel down front at the alter & cry out to God. I’ve memorized verses to try & combat it but never lasted, I can say that since April 27th I’ve been in my bible & seeking God. I have this desire to know God, do his will, be used by him etc. Then on the other hand I struggle to believe that his salvation is for me ( crazy I know) I know salvation comes through repentance & faith &believing in Jesus but I felt that that excluded me. That made me feel worse because there’s nothing I want to hear than “well done my good & faithful servant”. But I for some reason couldn’t believe that God could actually save me. I can relate to the hopeless feeling of thinking you are alone in this struggle. I’ve been fighting to claim God’s promises in my life & have prayed & cried for God to break these chaino of doubt, unbelief etc. I’ve asked him to forgive my unbelief. It bothers me because I can’t even be the spiritual leader of my house hold because of my doubt & un assurance. I’ve thought how am I suppose to lead my family when I can even have assurance in my own life. I realize that I can never earn my salvation even tho I’ve been trying to earn it & trying to be accepted by God. I realize that God Loves me & Desires a relationship with me. He paid too high of a price for His salvation not to be for me. All I know to Do is to Hope in Jesus & cling to Him with dear life. Pray for me that God would release all of this fear anxiety, doubt about salvation etc. I want to live for Jesus but I’m stuck in this vicious cycle of fear etc. I pray for you all & I’m encouraged that I’m not in this alone
I’ll pray please pray for me I’m jealous of you. I haven’t cried or been in panic like you. I keep thinking I don’t want to be saved. I want to be but I’ve been living this way for so long….. I’ve listened to Paul washer and the other guy to. Good teachers made me see I’m A fake Christian but I’m getting worse everyday. Sinning More. I’m sure I won’t be this way for long but yeah
How are you doing? I wouldn’t be worried its clear from what I can see that u are saved. Pray that I be. I have no heart.
Praying for you God bless!
I deal the exact same way
During the whole year of 2017 I struggled with this I was saved when I was 14or 15 don’t remember was on the fringe of my birthday bu anyways I remember the way I was living before I was saved and it was not good I thought I knew God but I did not but that night with no preacher or someone showing me what to do ( because I knew what to do I was born into a baptist family). I trusted Him alone that night only Christ on the cross for forgiveness of my sins and salvation. But I still doubt but I look to the His Word because it says I am saved. And I remember my transformation
I love to teach Sunday school but always feel unworthy. I really enjoyed reading your article on “doubting salvation”. thank you so much for scripture.
When I was pretty young I asked Christ to save me and was later baptized professing that Jesus was now my Lord. This all took place in the early years of my life (6-12)and I’m not sure I fully understood what it all meant. Now I do. I understand Christ died for me, forgave my sins, and that we only have access to God through Jesus. And I truly love Him and want to follow His Word. Like many on here I prayed to ask Jesus to save me again and again once I understood it all better as an adult. I have witnessed and professed my faith to others… but sometimes I get caught up that I didn’t make my “adult salvation decision” public. So I get worried that Christ may deny me before his Father because I was embarrassed to tell others that I have had a 3rd or 4th conversion experience. Not embarrassed over being a Christian just the weirdness of asking to be saved over and over. I don’t want to mistake the Holy Spirit’s convicting for Satan’s lies that have kept me from growing. Thoughts?
It’s hard to know where these thoughts are coming from, but if you’re concerned about confessing Christ, why not share your story with your friends, a trusted adult at church, or your family? No where in the Bible does it say, “You must go forward in church and stand in front of the congregation and tell them you got saved” – but you’re right, it does talk about confessing with your mouth. So why not confess Him to those close to you? If your prompting is of the Holy Spirit, then you will have obeyed. If Satan is messing with you, then you’ll have (hopefully) shut him up on this one 🙂
You made an interesting comment. You said that you “don’t want to mistake the Holy Spirit’s convicting for Satan’s lies”. During times of intense doubting, I struggle with the question: “Whose voice am I listening to? The Spirit of truth or the spirit of error?” Sometimes I don’t know if it’s conviction, or condemnation/accusation. Am I making sense? Can anyone else relate to this? God’s blessings!
This is probably something I should not do I keep thinking I don’t want to be saved have kinda stopped caring. Please pray I start caring and get saved. Even after I’m saved I still want prayers
I’m 17 and for almost 2 years I’ve struggled with doubts of my salvation. I would turn to scripture and it would give me peace for a second then I would be knocked down again. Then “negative scripture” (ex. “Not all who say Lord Lord shall enter the kingdom of heaven…” Matthew) would hit me and I wouldn’t know what to do. I would have a mountain of evidence that I was saved and then a pebble of doubt that was demolish my mountain. Right now, my struggles are ceased but I know God is working on me and He is constantly making me better. This blog was plus the comments are super encouraging and helpful. So thank you!
This sounds all good . So at 65 i am a catholic.i believe in Jesus Christ. I know he will help my family for I will has Jesus to help the need the right way. Catholic is different. Can you answer . What’s will happen to all Catholic. What happens to people raised in addiction homes and homeless. I can tell you there isn’t much people trying to help the poor or need. So do you know someone that loves there neighbor as themselves. For I see all families just looking out for themselves. Wish I knew who helps the poor. U can pray for them but don’t want to take them in your home For you always have excuses and Jesus Help prostitution etc. and show them love and hope help them get on there feet. And if someone gives money that’s that not the way to love them as you love your child For we are all all god’s children. He loves us all. Answer please
Hello,
I wish I could tell exactly what you were asking so that I could answer better for you. Yes, we do have a responsibility to the poor that we sadly are not always fulfilling.
You asked about Catholics. The Bible makes it clear that salvation does not have to do with what denomination we are – neither does it have to do with our works (as is often emphasized by the Catholic church). It is all about the work that He has done – and whether or not we choose to believe in and accept that work.
So if a Catholic has chosen to believe in the work of Jesus by faith alone through grace alone and has given His life to Christ in that manner, then s/he is a child of God. If s/he has not done so and is relying on his/her works to earn salvation, then they are not understanding the Gospel and are not (at least as of yet) saved.
I was saved at a very young age. I was six years old. I remember a pastor showing me a clock. I can’t remember exactly what the story was behind that little clock, but I vaguely remember feeling convicted by it. Maybe it had something to do with how we should not wait too long to be saved, because at some point it could be too late if Christ returns before we accept Him into our lives. I remember sitting on the bed with my father at home and asking to be saved, and then I was baptized some time later. I am 45 now and have doubted my salvation my entire life. I remember sometime after I was saved thinking the rapture had come and I had been left behind! I got off the bus one time and my mother hadn’t made it home yet, and I panicked!! I thought I had been left behind again, and ran 2 miles to a neighboring house nearby!! Crazy!! So at the age of 29 I went to my parents and told my dad I had been doubting my salvation my whole life. I sat at the kitchen table with my father as he read scripture to me, and I accepted Christ again in my parents kitchen. I remember during and right after thinking… “Am I really saved?” “Am I having enough faith?” I continued to doubt!! And I still do to this day. Reading this blog has helped me. I feel it is a COMPLETE attack from Satan when we continue to experience these doubts. I too was raised in a baptist Christian home. I was in church every time the doors were open. I was raised in church! I believe Jesus is the Son of God. I believe that God sent His son to the world to save us!! He was crucified on a cross to save us all from our sins!! I may not understand it all, but I BELIEVE it all. Every single word of it. Jesus rose from the grave 3 days later and ascended back into Heaven some days after that. I know I’m saved when I sit and type this. I know that God is not a liar. His promises are true. It is a complete attack from Satan, and I feel in order to over come that we just have to stay in God’s word and continue reading his promises.
For couple months now I been having issues with my thoughts I been asking myself have I really receive Him? Or do I really believe in Him? I keep asking myself if I truly believe in Him or have faith in Him… I don’t know if this is the same as what people talk about in this website.. but I have ask many times Jesus to saved me and I have beg Him to open my eyes or help my I believe, but while I am praying I feel like I don’t mean it or maybe I am just saying it cause hate the right thing to do. I also get thoughts where I wrestle with the idea that we have lots of Christian domination and many of them believe in salvation by faith in Jesus alone but they do some stuff that it doesn’t make sense why a Christian would do that or live that way… so those things make me feel what if most people make themselves believe they are saved when they are not. I have heard of many stories and even pastors who thought they believe and when they got elder they one day while ready said “i believe” and that gets me worry cause I don’t want to stand one day in front of Jesus and be told he never knew me… i hope I make sense
I am a Deacon at my church and a youth teacher as well, but I also work in Security and come across a lot of people from so many backgrounds that I deal with addictions, homelessness, domestic issues, marrital, and some times I myself am challenged spiritually and physically. It is hard being a husband,father, and leader in the church and on the job but with every challenge I do find myself getting lazy, complacent and then when I see myself in a place I don’t want to be in things get chaotic at home and with myself. People don’t understand that just because we are Christians that we don’t get challenges like everyone else. Not true, if anything the enemy comes even more so cause he is mad. Proverbs 3:5,6 “IN ALL THY WAYS ACKNOWLEDGE HIM AND HE WILL DIRECT YOUR PATHS STRAIGHT. LEAN NOT UNTO YOUR OWN UNDERSTANDING.
PLEASE KEEP ME ENCOURAGED AND IN PRAYER AD I CONTINUE TO DO GOD’S WILL. PRAY FOR MY SON AND I THAT OUR RELATIONSHIP WILL GROW STRONGER AND BETTER IN JESUS NAME. AMEN.
Thank you so much for this post!
I have spent most of my adult life doubting my salvation because of my “shaky” foundation and not feeling saved.
I grew up like many who have posted before me in a Baptist Church going ever Sunday morning/night and Wednesday night. I came from a family of preachers and deacons. I remember growing up wanting so badly to be saved. I also prayed that same prayer at least a 100 times to ask for forgiveness believed God sent His only begotten son to die for my sins and that only through Him I could be saved. I meant the prayer every time. However, I always felt undeserving. I felt that I just wasn’t saved. These doubts became overwhelming to the point I joined the Navy at 19 and for 11 years turned my back on God and my faith.
It wasn’t until a few months ago my neighbors invited me to their church. My wife and I joined a few weeks later. It all came rushing back. My overwhelming convictions and the absolute need to repent. I found this post and it has been very helpful. After this morning’s sermon it really hit home that I’ve been leaning far too long own my own understandings and not trusting in God’s promises. Thank you so much for this. I feel the most amazing sense of peace that I haven’t felt in years.
I can relate to many of the comments here. I have been saying “the sinner’s prayer” off and on for a long time but I have never really felt saved. I understand that it’s not wise to go by your feelings but I can’t help but think that if I were really saved, I would be experiencing God’s love and presence in some way. But I just have never experienced this, and let’s face it, without the reality of God’s love, you really don’t have anything.
Often I think that I might have spent too much time like this and now God has given up on me although this could just be an attack by the devil, but it still worries me. Lately due to some difficult situations in my life, I have been trying harder to find salvation but after prayer God’s love still seems out of my reach. I’m trying to stay determined this time not to give up on prayer but I often get very discouraged and feel like it’s hopeless. I probably would give up if I didn’t think I would end up in hell when I die for not being saved. So I guess the search continues.
Praying for you. As I read your comment, I’m hearing you trying really hard to get salvation. That might be your problem. Salvation is not something you work hard to get. It’s not something you even work up the faith to get.
Eph 2:8-9 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.
Notice that even the faith isn’t ours – it is a gift of God. Salvation is ALL God’s work. Our only part is to choose to accept it. So choose Him. Choose to believe and accept. And don’t base your confirmation on how you feel – whether it’s an emotional moment or whether you “sense’ or “feel” God’s love. God loves you. Period. and when you are His child, He lives in you. Sometimes that is felt, sometimes it’s not. But it is true because God says it, not because we feel it. Focus on truth, and the feelings will come in time (not the other way around).
Hope that helps…
I am thirteen and have had my ups and downs with God. I struggle with doubts very often, sometimes even doubting the existence of God. Everyday I feel guilty for not remembering God when I’m doing work. I have done the ” just in case prayer” countless of times… I am not even sure when I was even saved because I grew up learning about Christ. It was only very recently when my faith grew deeper. I don’t know whether I have the Holy Spirit in me, and I constantly wonder what loving God actually means. What if I don’ t actually love God and accept Jesus Christ? It seems like my heart is rejecting Jesus Christ, but I can’t. I really can’t reject Jesus Christ because he is love, he is God. What if I’m not really God’s child and I was never reborn? What if I am actually deceiving myself into thinking that I actually know God? What if at the end of my life, the words I hear are: I never knew you, depart from me. I know I should trust God about this, but I’m not sure what it means to trust him. I cant say that I do not love God, but I don’t even know what that means anymore… I am lost, stuck, and I need Jesus… How am I supposed to find him?
Hello! I’d encourage you to talk to someone in your church about this – a parent, a youth worker, Sunday school teacher – someone that knows you, has wisdom, and can help guide you through your questions. ????
I would agree with Linda, that you should talk to some other solid Christians. You don’t have to go through this alone. Don’t be ashamed to talk to them. If they’re good Christians, they should understand your doubts and concerns. Jesus says: If you seek me with all your heart you will find me. He’s the one, who can teach us all how to love. Remember that little grain of mustard seed that Jesus talks about of faith. I would sincerely pray by yourself so you can focus more on God. I almost always pray to Jesus, since He is God also, but just ask Him to help you with this. Be honest with Him. He already knows how you think and feel and believe, but obviously your really concerned about this and He knows that. He says, those who come to Him in truth He will in no wise cast out. My heart really goes out to you, I know that God’s heart does too, and he’s the one who has the absolute power and love to help you with this and anything else. Just open your heart to Jesus and He’ll listen and help you. With love, Marc.
I do get your stuggles but I dont question that there is a god or do I question that jesus died for my sins there is no way that something else created the heavens and the earth because when I look outside to the heavens or to the trees and the beauty that god created there is no way on gods earth and the bible says what is happening today in this world can you not believe in the lord because we are living in the last days that I believe with all my heart so believe my friend if there are other beings on other planets god created them. He created dinosaurs and then maybe he said let me create a mammel in the form of a human adam then eve and I do believe we are all related to them so we are all gods children and god was mad that he created man that is when he told noah to build the ark and put his family and animals on it and destroyed it with water next it will be fire ao we must protect isreal. BELIEVE DONT QUESTION
I struggled with doubts so often for a couple of years. I knew God loves me and forgave my sins. But I doubted that I truly believe in Jesus with all my heart. My faith was shaken so many times. Each time as I go spiralling downwards God will reassure me through messages and people. The last time was when I was really down and someone sent me a bouquet of flowers with the words…you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit…That message from God set me free from all my doubts.
Been a while since I’ve posted but has anyone else ever done this in particular? – Service is powerful, ur not sure as usual bout ur salvation no matter what u did last week or night before and any and every time there’s an alter call even if it’s just to come pray and Pastor says “you mind God” you run to the alter(almost as if your an alter jockey) but at a revival you run to the alter, even if you didn’t feel a draw or conviction…someone puts their hand on shoulder or kneels in front of you prays for you, talks to you, tells you Jesus said He will in no wise cast you out” etc etc… you pour your heart out, say almost the same words you have at any other profession, after a few min or 10 you get up, hug the people that prayed for you, they ask(or he/she) if the Lord saved you, then you pause…say Yes according to His word, I believe His promises (with a load of tears) then hey announce you got saved, folks shake your hand, you feel you got it settled after you talk to a few people after you leave then you kinda feel ok going to bed that night then after you wake up your full of anxiety and really never felt did different…then next revival you run up on, you do it all over again???
If anyone can relate at all or have any type of encouragement that perhaps i haven’t heard post or hit me up- seabee2310@yahoo.com
Other day I prayed at an alter at my friends church and it just felt like I was going no were and felt JUST like Judus and Essau musta felt. I walked out of the church before he even started preaching and called my wife cause I’ve been losing weight over this and assumed I wouldn’t even make it through the week cause of my health concerns and told her what was going on and that I was sorry. Couple men came out of the church and tried to talk to me but it was at no avail. Spoke to a man that prayed with me at a revival a couple weeks before and he signed and told me to come down there and if God speaks to me to act on it. So it’s almost like I just show up at services and weight for a feeling of some kind. This is scary and frustrating. Help me, pray for me
I wish I knew exactly what to say to help you, but a few questions so ponder…
* Why do you go to the altar if you don’t feel conviction? What is making you think that’s what you need to do? Are you listening to men or God?
* When you “feel” anxiety – what is that based on? Are you trusting in how you feel? or in God and His promises?
Wow that makes me think that is a great question and I will takw it to the alter and give it to god thank you amen
Nothing says you gotta be a teen. I was saved at 45 and struggled with it for years. When the enemy tries bringing it up again, I remind him of what Jesus said.
Everyone doubts at times. Even though not everyone will admit to it. Faith can grow stronger but until we leave our fleshly bodies, we’ll still be prone to some doubts at times.
John leaps in the womb at the sound of Mary’s voice.
Luke 1:41
When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
John visibly sees the Spirit:
John 1:32
Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him.
John doubts:
Luke 7:2-3
When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples to ask him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”
Yet 9 verses later, Jesus said: Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist;
Having doubt isn’t the same as not having faith:
Mark 9:24 Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”
Remember too that Peter walked with Jesus, walked on water, yet denied Him 3 times.
Remember that Elijah faced the prophets of Baal, yet a threat from Jezebel sent him running.
We all have a measure of faith:
Romans 12:3
For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.
Hi can relate to a lot of what many are saying on here and I am 49.I was saved as a child and had felt likeI was saved and all.It was in my 20s that I began to wonder or question and wondered if I had commited the unpardonable sin or if I really was truly saved and a believer and worried about my place in eternity.It also has not helped that I have gotten off into doing things I shouldn’t be doing or be into or about and that my I have not done even more with my walk and life as a believer.It helps to know that others go thru all this and struggle but still this is a difficult area for me more than I wish it was.But I will say nonetheless I do believe God/Jesus and the word are the answer.
i also have doubts,why god would want me,for i sin daily,i have never not believed on the lord jesus christ ,that he died for my sins and have ask him for forgiveness for my sins,and i worry that i still sin and he will grow tired of my sins,i know i can never be good enough in the flesh,i just pray for his forgiveness and mercy.pray for me that god will give me the strength to overcome my weakness in this life,god has blessed me so much my entire life i just thank him for it
It’s not just teens who struggle with this
I have been freaking out over this thought of if my salvation was real or not. But I had trusted in Jesus to save me. What you said was exactly how I felt. I was afraid that my feelings were not normal. This was amazing thank you sooooo much.
Can anyone have extreme anxiety disorders and be saved? I wonder cause I’ve had it for years and years. I keep raising my hand that “you’re not sure” as the preacher puts it. Havnt yet heard anyone talk about Holy Ghost drawing as it puts it in John 6:44 which is a joyous verse but a scary one for anyone having salavation issues. Is hunger for Jesus that or is it something nobody can explain. I keep feeling I got drawn once or twice and didn’t act in faith some years back. Any feedback will do. Tonight a preacher said “you just have to trust Him, that’s all you can do” I’ve also heard scary stories of people who were too late to trust Him per say.
I doubt my salvation because each time after I prayed I had horrible anxiety. I have doubted because I don’t understand a lot of scripture. The Calvinist points drive me crazy and I find myself trying to figure it all out. And I worry that I doubt my salvation because I am not one of the elect or called. Also, I’ve prayed so many times for God to save me that I’m not sure which time I was really saved. Any advice for me?
Oh, I can so relate the round-around struggles. Here’s a few thoughts that I hope will be helpful:
1) If you desire to follow Jesus, that is not something that you came up with yourself. That can only happen if God is drawing you to Himself. So do NOT question whether you are elect. Simply repent and believe. Jesus says, “He who comes to me, I will in no wise cast out.”
2) It does not matter which time you were really saved. God knows, but it really doesn’t matter if you can point at a certain date. Have you repented? Do you choose to trust in Jesus as Savior and Lord? Then it does not really matter when it happened.
Anonymous google I Love You from the Heart of The Father by Matthew Debord.
I’ve been raised in church all of my life. I felt like my “rededication” was my salvation because of feelings but the truth is, I had never truly asked Jesus to come into my heart because I thought He was already there. A few days ago I couldn’t sleep, the doubts were eating me up. I begged God to give me a clear sign of what I need to do. I felt my heart pounding and I felt like He was telling me to go get it right. I got out of bed and asked God to save me. Before I even stood up the doubts and a feeling of nervousness jumped on me, and I began to doubt my salvation yet again. I thought me finally getting it right would take all of those away but now it seems like it’s even worse! Over these past few days I’ve read my bible more and prayed harder than I probably ever have in my life! I’m able to thank God for allowing me to go through this battle of doubts because it’s making my faith stronger and will make me a stronger Christian! Doubts can only affect you when you give into them. Based on God’s word decide for yourself if you’re saved and if you are, trust and have faith in His word! I’m so glad I’m not the only one who deals with this!
I am a proud Christian but I hate religious systems. Denominational doctrines attach unnessary conditions to salvation which scares many Christians in life. Imagine how they indoctrinate people, “If you are not a member of this church you won’t gain salvation.”. Perhaps they have forgotten the true Church is Christ Jesus himself and through him alone you can gain salvation which is the free gift from God. Your works can’t buy you salvation. His grace does.
I L❤️VE this message! It is very thorough and offers good supporting scriptures. I will be sharing this message and/or the scriptures with others. I was actually getting ready to research, “why do Christians feel like they’re not saved.” I’ve heard some say that they feel like they’re not saved and sometimes I feel like that too. Then, I stumbled across this message. I’m blessed to have read this message! I think that for anyone struggling with or questioning rather or not they’re saved, this message is an answer. If it doesn’t seem like an answer now, read the scriptures and give it a chance to sink in. And if I might add, get into a good church (ask for prayer) and/or follow good scriptural teaching. Thank you so very much for sharing such an amazing message!
When I came upon this site I was stunned to see that there’s other people going through the same thing I am. It’s kind of a long story so I hope you can bear with me. I was raised in a Christian home and was baptized as a baby. The time when I think I accepted Christ was 5 years ago when I was 18. We were at a summer retreat for my church and the final night we were there I remember I somehow felt different inside in a good way. It might have been from what I learned in our small group messages. But I remember sitting down next to my dad and telling him that I thought I was ready to accept Christ. After a few minutes of talking he took me over to a little corner and he hugged me tightly and wept tears of joy. Then he prayed over me with one hand on my shoulder and the other in the air. I don’t remember saying the sinners prayer but as my father was praying I felt like I was finally opening my heart to Jesus and believed in the truth. After that we all sang in worship and I was crying and praising at the same time. Probably for the first time in my life. I felt different in the best way possible.
For a while I really felt like I was a Christian. Of course I was still probably a baby Christian whose character grew a little over time. But 6 months after my possible conversion I started taking an interest in lustful things. And over time it got a little worse. Since it wasn’t exactly pornography I didn’t think there was anything wrong with it. But I always thought about girls I was sexually attracted to. I think deep down I always felt bad doing it but it became an addiction and it gave me pleasure. This went on for several years until the beginning of this year. I started feeling very guilty and wanted to stop. After some tries and failures I confessed it to my parents because I didn’t know what else to do. They we’re kind and gracious about it and wanted to help me. With them praying for me and by my prayer of repentance to God I finally quit for good. I was free!! And I was for several months.
For a little bit I felt very accomplished but then there were these doubts that entered my mind out of nowhere. Doubts about whether or not I beat that temptation by my own willpower or by the Holy Spirit working in me. Then I started wondering if I even had the Holy Spirit at all. Then that’s when I started questioning my salvation. If I ever did become a Christian that night a few years ago. I prayed a lot of just-in-case prayers just like you did but each time I still wasn’t fully sure. All this doubting has filled me with anxiety and I became so anxious that I gave into my old addiction again.
I have a feeling that this is Satan messing with my mind. To get me to turn back to my sinful ways. I could be over thinking it though. I have a tendency to overthink things and make them harder than they need to be.
But I still have a deep desire to honor and please God if I know He’ll be proud and will accept me into heaven. I still pray to Him everyday. I have a friend who’s going through a tough time right now and I feel like it’s my responsibility to help rebuild her relationship with Christ. She feels broken and I pray for her a lot. I want her to heal and I believe that this is the best way. Could that also mean that I’m possibly a Christian because my first immediate response to her situation was Jesus?
So here’s the questions I have:
1) Did I overcome my lust addiction because I have the Holy Spirit in me? If so, does that mean that I am a Christian?
2) Is God still even interested in having an intimate, loving relationship with me? Or have I run out of second chances?
3) If I make mistakes in the future will God forgive me for them?
4) Do you think this is Satan messing with my head?
5) If I wasn’t saved before would Jesus want to save me now?
I really hope that I am a Christian and that my eternal destiny will be in heaven forever with God, Jesus, and all other Christians. And that all of my anxiety and doubts about this will end. I suggest that before you write back you pray to God and ask Him to speak to me through you. I REALLY need to know where I stand in all of this. You might be my only hope. Thank you for this website and for this chance to know for sure. Please message me back soon. Thank you.
I just sat down and prayed that God would help me to stop having doubts about my salvation, once and for all. I Googled Bible studies on doubting one’s salvation, and this was the first thing I clicked on. I was in tears as soon as I started reading. This was me, word for WORD! The praying “just in case prayers” was something I had done so many agonizing times. This has truly been a Godsend! Thank you for sharing your story and helping and so many people by doing so. I’m overjoyed to say that I felt the Holy Spirit for the first time in a long time, while reading this!! So happy to say that my doubts are gone!!
So glad it was helpful!!! Keep in mind that if a doubt returns, that doesn’t mean you have to start the whole cycle over again. Cling to His Word again and again. Praying for you.
Oh my!! What a mirror image of me… I have prayed and prayed and prayed that I have salvation, to please give me salvation God because I have sin in my life – I love to drink wine, and I drink too much, so I feel because I cannot totally quit & when I do, I end up going back to it, I am not truly saved… I was saved at age 12 – I went down in front to my minister (that was also my dad) and cried and asked the Lord to come into my heart.. as I grew up, I strayed far from my faith and church – stopped going to church (regularly) for about 20 years, then through my husband, I returned again….and I was pretty wild as a teenager and I was not baring any fruit for the Lord, but I always prayed to him and loved him & I did tell others about him and defended him when people would laugh about me being a Christian… now, because of this one vice I have (drinking wine), I feel it will keep me from entering the gates of heaven….but I love the Lord so much? How can I have such doubts about my salvation? Its maddening to say the least… I want him to take away the “lust” of wine from my lips…. I keep praying that prayer… I guess I will continue to pray that prayer until I stop drinking… please pray for me to find the will to stop… thank you!
Totally relating to you! Satan has used the BIG lie on me for so long that it has prevented me from doing anything useful for HIM. Doubting our salvation is Satan’s favorite weapon against us! Let’s all keep reminding ourselves in times of doubt, BELIEVE IN YOUR HEART AND CONFESS WITH YOUR MOUTH “! It’s not so hard.
It is so helpful to know I am not alone. I was saved in my teens. But struggled with fear of the unforgivable sin. I had thoughts I could not control, and it caused me to stray for many years. Coming back into my faith at 32 it was like reliving it all over. The enemy is real guys. And all of our testimony is proof. So many Christians don’t touch on this subject, and in fact add fuel to the fire by making it seem that once one is saved, they should no longer struggle. And in my experience it is quite the opposite. The enemy goes all in and it becomes a battle for your life. Or so it feels. Glad to know I am not alone. God bless all of you and give us the strength to embrace our own crosses in our struggles. Amen
Michael, just out of curiosity, when you say you strayed many years…was there will full sin involved as well? I only ask cause i feel I’ve been straying as well and wonder if I can come back. Thanks
Solomon
If you have any desire to come back, it’s not too late for you. But don’t put it off! It’s far too dangerous, His grace is not a pass to sin. But here’s some encouragement: A righteous man falls seven times a day and stands up again, proverbs 24:16. Cry out to the Lord for deliverance/freedom from bondage to sinful things. Just like you need grace to be saved, you need grace for chains to be broken. You ABSOLUTELY can come back to the Lord and He can ABSOLUTELY free you from lust, drugs, alcohol, lying, cheating, etc etc etc. The point in growing as a Christian is to grow deeper and deeper into Christ, becoming more and more like him. It’s a beautiful, painful, stretching journey. I’m in a stretching time myself. SO so worth it my friend. Ask to know the Holy Spirit and become so intimate with him, ask for His heart. That what He hates you will hate and what He loves you will love. So much hope for you!!!
Are you saying that we need to stop sinning to be saved?
As Christians we never stop sinning. Being a Christian does not make us perfect, however we are to strive toward perfection. Philippians 1:6 says, “For I am confident of this, that he who began a good work in you, will continue to perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” A good work is a progressive work, but if we are sinning willfully then we need to examine ourselves because it can be a slippery slope to climb back up. Check out this verse: “For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.” (Hebrews 10:26-27). Although there is grace we are not to extend it and Paul says that in the book of Romans many times. I would read Romans 6-8. It talks about dying to our old self and being alive in Christ as well as the war between the spirit and the flesh. Slaves to Gods law but in our sinful nature slaves to the law of the flesh, but yet again do not extend grace. Then it continues saying the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death. “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” Christ sets us free from the law of sin and death so we can find freedom from sin. But to say we have to stop sinning to be saved puts us in the place of Jesus Christ and working for our salvation. It is because of Jesus that we should desire to live a life of freedom from sin and a life of pleasing him and not ourselves. It is because of what He has given us through salvation that we want to sin as little as possible. The spirit and the flesh in us wage war constantly but it is a constant decision to obey Christ or not.
I say all of this out of experience. I went through willful sin for about 5 years. I didn’t quite understand all I am sharing with you until the last three months leading up to this. If it weren’t for willful sin I probably wouldn’t be in a place where I am questioning my salvation. Which is why I’m glad I found this post. I’m not perfect but I’m learning where Jesus in all of this comes in. My hardest struggle with all of this is thinking I lost my salvation and got it back but that doesn’t sound quite right to me so I’m doing research. It’s like the author of this post said, I need to look at the big picture. Our time is not God’s time, so 5 years is a speck in eternity. Some Christians stop bearing fruit for awhile but if they bear fruit again it means Jesus was pruning them to bear more fruit (John 15:1-6). God does not give up on us or disown us. If you stray and come back don’t let Satan make you think you disowned God either because that’s where Satan is trying to get me right now and I know He is wrong. God is the one who preserves those He calls children and unless you verbally say “I don’t believe in Jesus” and never come back with a repentant heart then you haven’t disowned Him, you’ve just lost your way. It is important to tell the difference between God’s chastening of a Father to His children versus His place of Judge to those who aren’t. If you are truly His there is no judgment or disowning for you. He is merciful. But again, don’t extend that grace.
I understand that concern about losing salvation. But I am encouraged because of what you said about not disowning Him. And also about the passage about willful sin – I’ve listened to teaching and read about that too – that the context is like what you said – rejection of Jesus Christ and showing no sign of repentance or desire for Him. I cannot remember a time in my life that I haven’t wanted Jesus in my life or to have a more repentant and surrendered heart, and feeling submissive in some areas but struggling in others more. But praying constantly for my heart to be soft to His will and the strength to obey. I have seen Him give me the strength to obey, much like the courage to witness, that I lacked before and to do what He asked.
I accepted Christ as my savior when i was 13 and taught Sunday School when I was 17 for 4-5 year olds. I remember going to church all the time. Somewhere in my 40’s and being divorced, I stepped off my track and lost myself. I still believed but wasn’t living the life that I should have. I am now in my 50’s and struggle with my past. I now devote myself every morning with my one one one with the lord and make that the start of my day. I have asked for forgiveness and I know that God forgives and I am to believe that. The struggle that I have is forgiving myself for going off the path. I am very happy with my relationship now with God but I feel like a child who has let their parents down with disappointment. I’ve recently had voice problems and going thru a speech pathologist. The bible says that God forgives and I believe that but I also have told myself that when I am able to use my voice again, it will be to tell others about God and Jesus and to praise him always. Thanks for listening and letting me get this out. God Bless and stay safe in these crazy times.
There is now no more condemnation in Christ Jesus. When we sin the enemy or our own hearts condemn us. Not God.
That verse about “if we go on sinning willfully” is a pretty terrifying one. I know from experience. I also know that it doesn’t apply to me or to you yet. I don’t think you would be here encouraging me and everyone else if God was done with you–and I WAS encouraged by reading your post. We should be fearful of willful sinning, but we should also know that we are the Lord’s and that He is so much more patient, forgiving, and longsuffering with His CHILDREN than we can imagine or sometimes remember. It is so easy to forget and Satan wants to make us forget. We think our lack of external works is our great sin, but our failure to trust Him is the problem. “Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom He hath sent.” He knew we–and this includes you–were going to struggle with all of this when He saved us. He didn’t just die for our sins up to a certain point in time, but for every sin we would ever commit. He still loves you and me and will forgive us for our failure to trust Him as we should. You may even–in the midst of your terror–have resentful thoughts toward God because some part of your mind(and this is what Satan wants) misidentifies Him as the enemy because you think He is trying to send you to Hell. Repent of those thoughts, which God knew you would have long before He even saved you. He isn’t trying to send us to Hell(it is Satan who wants us to go there), but has given us the free gift of Heaven through His Son. “How Can I Develop a Christian Conscience?” has a good section on legalism, which has been something I struggle with. I need to read it again myself. I believe that we continually underestimate how much God will forgive us and how much He loves us. “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” Thank you for your encouragement. It is God’s will for us to encourage each other.
David – Read the rest of that verse about “sinning willfully”. Always read surrounding verses for the correct context. As believers we will lose rewards, but once we are saved, we are ALWAYS saved..Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “It is the GIFT of God” and God doesn’t take back gifts just as He doesn’t break promises. I’m NOT saying TO sin willfully, I am only asking that you read it in context and don’t be fearful if you have no need to, okay? There is no fear in love and Christ is perfect love. Fear causes torment.
Hi, I know this post was years ago but I feel the need to say this. I understand your worry and fear over losing your salvation. I’ve been there, on the ground face down crying out in fact. But it’s just another lie. Jesus himself says “My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me. I give them eternal life and they shall not perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.” – John 10:27-28. So you see Jesus is saying that no one, not even you yourself, can snatch you from him. You are his. This is reiterated throughout the bible. Here are a few. John 10:29-30, John 6:35-40, Romans 8:35-39, Hebrews 7:25-28. I hope this helps.
What does “don’t extend that grace” mean?
It means like paul says in 1 corinthians that even though grace is produced from our sin, we shouldn’t then think to continue in that sin. The grace we were given already should be enough. In other words, don’t use grace as a license to sin.
Dear anonymous, in a word “no”. Christ came to save sinners not the righteous. If we could stop sinning we would have no need of a savior. But that’s not going to happen because we were conceived in a sin nature. When we believe the gospel we are regenerated into a new creature with a desire to please God. The fleshly nature will follow us our remaining days, but we must remember whose we are and that we were bought with the blood of Christ. God will take the pieces of who we are, what we are, where we are and rearrange them into a new life that brings honor and glory to Him if we will give ourselves to Him. God bless you, my friend.
Thank you for sharing this YizYaz. Because I’ve struggled too. I like what you said about asking the Holy Spirit to hate what He hates. That we will not WANT to sin. When sin feels so desirable and we find ourselves in a habitual sin to where it feels easier to do it, is where we want to run to God immediately and get in accountability. I did and it made such a big difference at least externally at first. But then comes the heart work and that goes deeper – to ask what you mentioned, for God to give us HIS desires over our own. And that’s been my hope and prayer – that my own will will suddenly not look nearly as appealing as God’s perfect plan. Thank you for sharing the hope we have!
He told them this parable. “Which of you men, if you had one hundred sheep, and lost one of them, wouldn’t leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one that was lost, until he found it? When he has found it, he carries it on his shoulders, rejoicing. When he comes home, he calls together his friends, his family and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ I tell you that even so there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents, than over ninety-nine righteous people who need no repentance.”
— Luke 15:3–7, World English Bible
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves snd the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, HE IS FAITHFUL AND JUST to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His Word is not in us.
This is my favorite verse in the Bible. I cling to it when I have doubts about my salvation. When I doubt that I’m forgiven. I’m still going through the process of “am I really forgiven.” I’m 65.
In reply to Micheal. The devil tells us lies by suggestions .the devil pounds our hearts with thoughts against God , Jesus and the Holy Spirit, so he can lock us in a corner. I was facing something as such , though I would be hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit trying to correct the misunderstanding the enemy has been using against me unknowingly to me. Then one day I read a book by Benny Hinn and listened to a message by Joseph Prince that brought me into peace after a long battle for years. We must know God sincerely loves us. God is able to hold us to the very end of time.
Might I recommend John MacArthur and R.C. Sproul? I have found their writings and sermons helpful. Of course, the bible is the best thing to read.
Michael you describe my struggle to a T. Thank you for sharing.
I’ve had bad horrible thoughts for years that I can’t control. Michael your story reads like mine. When I started to try to get closer to God when I was 22 I started having doubts that crippled me. The Lord has carried me through and Im learning to take things day by day.
I’m not sure how long ago this blog was posted or if anyone will read this but I just want to tell whoever wrote this, thank you so much. I think it is so easy for us, as Christians, to believe we are all alone in our thoughts, worries, doubts, etc. That is EXACTLY how Satan wants us to feel. I have been struggling for a while doubting my salvation. Like a lot of you, I grew up going to church with my family. (Side note: I am so blessed to have a family that loves the Lord!) I was saved when I was young and baptized shortly after. I remember being happy but I honestly don’t remember many details about that day. As years past, I continued going to church but didn’t have much of a relationship with Him. During high school, I had a serious relationship that lasted a few years. All I thought about was boyfriend, boyfriend, boyfriend. Toward the end of the relationship, he started wanting to cross lines that I didn’t want to cross. I knew it was wrong, but I wanted to make him happy because I loved him; therefore, I started compromising my beliefs. Everytime I would cross a line, I would ask for forgiveness. I repeated this cycle so much that I didn’t think God would even listen to me anymore. I felt like I had let my parents and God down. One Sunday morning, I felt God speaking to my heart about this. I repented (FOR REAL) and made the decision to rededicate my life to Christ. I wanted to change and grow in my relationship with Christ. I felt so much relief and peace that day. I was baptized later on and something happened that I will never forget. After being baptized, my skin felt brand new. I kept telling my mom, “I feel so different. My skin literally feels CLEAN.” I felt that this was God’s way of showing me that he had forgiven me. Since then, something changed. I started caring more! I wanted a relationship with him. However, I have dealt with doubt off/on since this day. I’ve prayed the “if I’m not saved, save me” prayer. I worry that when a preacher speaks to the lost, they are talking about me. It confuses me because I want to be obedient to God if he is calling me but I also don’t want to let Satan confuse me. To wrap this up, When I feel this way, it helps me to think about all the encounters I have had with the Lord throughout my life. I also think about how God convicts me. BUT I had not thought to read and study the verses on salvation and remember Gods promises. I am so thankful for this post!!
God knows our hearts.
Anonymous from July 2018, not sure if you will see this or not. I too went through great doubts over salvation and for nearly a year I set a record for “sinner’s prayers”/asking for salvation. Then, finally someone helped me to better understand the gospel. I deal with OCD, so yes I do still have doubts on my faith and things that revolve around that, but I have a central focus that even when I get hung up on the chaos of my disorder, I get drawn back to every time- Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
You see, we have an epidemic in the U.S. It’s a mishandling of the gospel and scripture and or even a false “gospel” of saying a sinner’s prayer for salvation, asking to be saved, going down to an altar and giving one’s life to God(opposite of Him giving His life lovingly for us), getting baptized, must declare something with the mouth(deaf or mute cannot do this), determine to turn(stop) from sin, etc.. All these “things” we are told WE must DO to be saved. Yet none of these things are mentioned in scripture as what WE DO.
Many point to Romans 10:9 as if it’s the only “salvation” verse in scripture, and they say, do this for salvation, and use it as a verse that means we must ask God to save us. Here Paul was actually speaking to the Jews/Israel, as seen as the beginning of the chapter. In verses 6-8 Paul makes a clear reference to Deuteronomy 30:11-17, which spoke of the Israelites knowing the law of a God that they should do and be blessed. They spoke the law and knew it well, so when they disobeyed and were chastised, they couldn’t say to God, who will go up to heaven and bring down the commandment for us to know and do it? Towards the beginning of the chapter, Paul says how Israel has gone about to establish their own righteousness by turning the law of God unto a way to save themselves from their sin penalty. That is not why the law was given to them, it was given to reveal sinfulness and point to Christ who would fulfill the law perfectly and deliver all from the sin penalty(death, eternal separation from God in torment). Coming to verses 8-10, Paul is saying, the very law that you know and have been speaking for generations has been pointing and declaring Christ(our sin atonement) all along. You cannot claim ignorance of this, so now believe/trust in Christ who died and rose again for your salvation(from sins penalty). For with the heart(mind/will) man believes unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto(in view of)that salvation. Paul was simply urging them to believe on the promised Messiah that they had long been already declaring in the law and the prophets. To recognize that Jesus(God in flesh) was in fact that promised one.
Now I would lovingly like to pull some things from your post that you are looking at as your “salvation”. Please note, I’m not saying you are not saved, just trying to clear up some things for you and perhaps others.
Here is all the things you say you are looking at as your salvation or proof of it-
•Looking back to a “salvation” and baptism when you were little.
•You Rededicated your life to Christ.
•Momentarily you had some feelings of peace(inner tranquility).
•Your second baptism experience where you “felt different”, thinking God gave that as proof of your salvation/forgiveness.
•Looking back to your various “encounters” with a God.
• Asking for salvation if not saved.
These are five things you are clutching to as your salvation or proof of it. The truth is, none of these things are your salvation or proof. God has only given one proof of our salvation, and that is the blood that Jesus shed on the cross for our sins. It is written, “look unto Me and be saved”. Christ in John 3 gave the reference to the bronze snake on the pole that Moses was told by a God to lift up and all the Israelites who had been bitten by deadly snakes simply could look to it and be healed(saved from physical death). Numbers 21. Christ said in like manner, He would be lifted up, and all who look to Him(trust in His finished salvation of the cross), would be saved. John 3:13-18. The Biblical(greek) meaning for believe is (faith, trust, reliance). See salvation/the Gospel is not something that happens TO us. It is actually something Jesus has already accomplished FOR us, on the cross. Right when Christ gave up His life on the cross, He declared, “it is finished”. (John 19:30). Our salvation therefore has already been totally finished. The wages(penalty) of our sin is death, and Christ died(as our substitute). So our penalty has already been paid by the blood of Jesus. Romans 5:6 says “ when we were yet without strength(ability to save ourselves), in due time Christ died for the ungodly.” 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 tells us the gospel is this- Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again. In Isaiah 53:11God the Father(looking ahead to Christ) says He “shall see the travail of his(Christ’s) soul and shall be satisfied”. Gods justice was fully satisfied with Christ’s death for us, and His resurrection also proves God accepted that as our sin payment. Jesus was sinless but took all of our sins upon Himself(2 Cor. 5:21, 1 John 2:2). Romans 3:25 says (speaking of Christ), “whom God has set forth to be a propitiation(satisfying payment), through faith in His blood”.
So our part in all this is simply to see/agree with God that we are indeed helpless sinners in need of a savior, relinquishing all reliance in ourselves to save ourselves(that’s repentance), and to simply take God at His word that Christ’s blood shed for us is fully sufficient to get us to heaven. We trust that Christ has fully paid our sin debt, relying on Him as our only hope for heaven. This is Biblical salvation. Eph 2:8,9 says “we are saved by His grace through faith(in Christ’s finished salvation work), the gift of God, not of our works so none can boast.” This tells us that the salvation is by grace and is a free gift. Romans 6:23 also tells us of this free gift(eternal life in heaven). The payment that Christ made for us is accounted to us the moment that we trust in His blood as sufficient. Romans 4:5. Salvation is not in a sinner’s prayer, but in trusting/relying on what Christ has already accomplished.
We must not rely on sinners prayers and asking for a God to “save us”. That is like us asking Him to come back down to earth and do something else to “save us” from our sin penalty, when He already has done so in Christ 2000 years ago on the cross. Us giving our lives to Christ(for service), being baptized, making Him Lord of our lives(again our dedicated obedience to Him), and all the other things I mentioned toward the beginning of this post, can never atone for our sins(and save us). Only the shed blood of Jesus can do that.
Hi JM
Romans 10:9 is such a great verse. The resurrection implies the atoning death of Christ, and it gives us the assurance that sin is taken care of and that God is at peace with us. Christ took the responsibility for our sin, and his rising assures us that all is well. Our part is to merely say “yes.”
Having said that I still struggle, due likely to my own OCD. I tend to look within at my own faith and “fruit.”
JM,
This is probably one of the BEST explanations (and freeing as well) that I have ever read about how a person is saved. I have thought for a long time about what you shared regarding the “sinner’s prayer” and going to an altar etc. The thief on the cross never walked to an altar, nor did he get baptized, nor did he actually say a sinner’s prayer. You spelled it all out with Scripture, and the whole thing of recognizing Jesus as the Only Atonement for my sins qualifying as repentance, and not all my efforts to live a dedicated life flawlessly, dovetail with some other Biblically based grace teaching I’ve been receiving in the past few months. That my salvation is a finished work accomplished solely by Jesus and not me. That is huge. It is challenging to shake the old mindsets and training we have received in America about what salvation is supposed to look like. Thank you so much JM. I want to copy and share your message.
I have always doubted ,I started going to a f.w.b church about 34 yrs ago ,i wasen’ t raised in church and after I set through sermons I started getting scared of dying and going to help, I couldn’t eat sleep or injoy myself for the worry ,I asked God to forgive me many times and I have lived a Christian life ever since,but I never had the assurance others testified of ,that they knew the moment they got saved ,and I just kept asking for forgiveness ,and until this day I still doubt ,and in my mind I think is there really a God ??and I pray he shows me a sign ,and he never does!! ,which makes me doubt more ,and then I think maybe I wasen t saved because I doubt God’s existence, but I live a Christian life because I don’t want to go to hell,but then I think I must believe or I wouldn’t be scared ,I can’t be a good witness and doubt like this ,I want to enjoy my Christian life but it’s hard to when your not sure of your own salvation.
Hi! I can so relate to your struggle that “if I doubt, does that mean I didn’t have faith?” – I was right there. My encouragement to you, however, is to stop looking for a sign or a feeling and instead choose to trust God. Sometimes we have a “feeling of assurance,” sometimes we don’t. Sometimes God gives a sign, sometimes He doesn’t. The presence or absence of a feeling or a sign is NO indication of our salvation. Instead, we must trust God and His Word – which is the only sure thing.
If you want to see if God is at work in your life, look back over the past five years and see if you have grown in your faith, in the fruit of the Spirit, etc. If we are saved, God IS at work in us, and we will grow over time. But don’t look for a feeling. It may come, but it may not – and it’s not reliable anyway.
Hope that helps.
Linda, did you ever think it was God convicting you instead of an attack by Satan ? That is what it always feels like to me and it scares me to death . I really don’t know anything else to do !!
It can be really tempting to rely only on our feelings, but that’s often not enough. I truly encourage you to do what I did: I started writing down verses that discussed salvation – verses such as Romans 10:13 “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” and Acts 16:31 “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.” I created an ever-growing list of verses such as these and started to claim God’s promises.
I confessed my sin to God , I believe in him, but I still can’t help but have dis doubts if am really saved. so I decided to pray always study God worlds to see if dat will help , but it isn’t helping ,if I don’t go to church a day I just ask myself am I really saved do I really have d holy sprit in me if I make a mistake or do something Wrong I ask myself one thing, why did d holy sprit not guide me … does dat me am not saved yet. when I first accepted Jesus into my life I was convinced them why am I going through all dis struggling, and doubt. I really need help…..
It’s bad enough when you are a Christian struggling with assurance but it’s even worse when you fell into gross sins. It terrifies me how there are Christian denominations out there that are convinced that my fate is sealed and my doom is sure.
I became a Christian at age 13. Unfortunately I had a hard head and fell into sins. Repented at 17-18. Got baptized shortly after. Enjoyed a brief period of assurance and peace. Fell into sins AGAIN. This time it was worse and more willful. Now I’m 26 years old. I fear that I have committed the apostasy in Hebrews chapter 6 and 10. I never rejected Christ but I always struggled with low self esteem and a deep hatred for myself. I fell into some worldly thinking patterns and it deceived me. My sins are so deep and black. I fear I was severed from Christ. I fear I am the branch that did not bear fruit and withered and then was thrown in the fire. I fear I am the dog that returned to the vomit and the sow that returned to wallowing in the mud. I fear I am Esau.
Yet I know that Christ is my only hope. If I give up now then that seals my fate. Only thing I can do now is trust and hope that there is a sacrifice that remains for me. I wish I did not lose sight of what a great salvation I had. I have renounced all of my sins and God has helped me gain victory over my sins but I fear that I am a counterfeit. I hope I did not sell out eternity for a few years of sin just like Esau sold his blessing for a morsel of meat. If only I could rewind time and redo it all again.
My name is Adam and I’ve had major attacks of self doubt and unbelief towards God and it always seemed unnatural. I never could sleep or live the way God wants me too for 7 years now, I think I was just starting high school at the age of 15 But I highly appreciate this read very encouraging!
This is my testimony. I am now age 60. I grew up in a Christian home. Im Baptist. I have had doubts about God saving me since age 13. From the beginning Satan talked to Eve to tell her to basically doubt what God said. Its still that way. Satan told me a lie and so i doubted what God told me in His holy Bible. I had to decide to believe what God said or believe what Satan said to me. I have been in church since i was a baby..I went to church as my mom said i had too. As i grew to the age 13 i still attended church. I listened to the preacher, but all those salvation type verses did not apply to me. To me as a child, the holy bible was a book for others not me. I could not even understand those verses. At age 13, I was playing outdoors. Just a another day to me. I was standing on the side of our house. Out of no where, God Himself spoke to me saying,”It’s time for you to be saved.” It was an internal voice of God, but I never heard God before, but i knew it was God. As i stood there that day, God put all those bible verses in my mind, and I believed what He told me. He brought the verses to me and it applied to me. Then i cried knowing that the bible was so true. God even put in my mind what was said in church about salvation. God told me i was lost and i repented and asked God to save me, and to forgive me. Then a few minutes another voice i never heard before said, “God did not really save you.” That voice was Satan. I thought i was supposed to have a “feeling” when i got saved. So without that “feeling” Satan used that against me. I didnt have a feeling so i doubted my salvation. For years i doubted that God saved me. Over the years i think i prayed for salvation several thousand times. I even when to my pastor but all we did was to pray the same prayer as i prayed a thousand times. Every time i prayed God did not save me, because i was already saved. He only had to save me one time. But i went ahead and went on ten mission trips in South Africa and Guatemala. I taught Sunday School at church. I was a tutor at my church for 12 years. Yet i still had doubts. Satan is so evil. It came down to this: I had to choose to believe God or believe Satan. Satan is the father of lies. Its safe to say; believe nothing what Satan says. NOTHING!!!! The doubts was that God’s word is not totally true. Remember the Garden of Eden. Satan told Eve that you will not surely die as God had told them. So they doubted what God had said. They chose to believe Satan. When i had doubts, i doubted if i could totally believe what God told me in His holy bible. So I went back to where it all began. To that day i prayed at age 13 to be saved by God. I did ALL that He told me that day. I BELIEVED God that day. Its so simple. Dont make it complicated. Its so simple. God saved me that day in my yard at age 13. I read books to help me about my doubts. None worked. Its so simple! All i needed to read was God’s holy word in the bible. I now believe what God told me in the bible. Finally after years of doubting God’s word, i decided to believe God.
Ronald you and I could be twins. Everything that you said yourself I said to myself. I haven’t been on a mission tripm but I felt like you that something’s missing. I was baptized as a baby but I got as an adult because I rededicated my life to God. But I still felt empty. I was looking for something why it’s out this way and when I came to this site and read your testimony I knew what I had to do. I’m 66 years old and a widow. And I’m going to do as you did because you made me realize it’s never too late. God bless you Ronald and thank you.
I’m so relieved to find I’m not the only one over 50 struggling with this. Not that I want anyone to struggle with this. But Wylma I have felt the need to get re-baptized too but I’m glad you shared.
Thank you for sharing Ronald. I didn’t really ever struggle with my salvation until I started to grow closer to God and began to really study His word. In reading your story, I agree that Satan is at work, filling out hearts and minds with doubt any way he can. I’ve often heard the closer we get to God, the harder satan will work to tear you down. Thank you again for sharing your story. It helps to know I’m not alone with this struggle
Thank you Lisa for your comment, it is very encouraging!
Lisa your words speak volumes thank you for sharing
Lisa, thank you for your input. As I read it, I begin to realize it’s just the way I feel. I never ever doubted in my salvation at all. And knew I was saved it was a given. But now as I’m older and I am trying to get closer to God, I have struggled with it. So thank you for your input. It has helped me to know others do the same. Satan really does try to get you to doubt the closer you want and try to get to God. I know that I am saved and I will claim His promises.
Thank you for your testimony Ronald. I have the very same experience. I was 17 and in church for the first time in years and I know the Lord spoke to me in my pew during the alter call but I just said OK to Him and did not go to the front to pray with someone because of my fear of walking down that long isle. My doubts started that afternoon. I am 65 and experiencing those doubts again because I don’t know how I could be a Christian and do some of the things I do. I have done everything in church out of a desire to serve God. I have taught preschoolers for 40 years and I am a ordained minister. I was a Children’s Pastor for 16 years. But doubts have come and gone all of those years. I have talked to many leaders about my doubts and have had times of great assurance but then there are those times that my doubts overtake me. I have been baptized twice and prayed to receive Christ into my life thousands of times but nothing ever changes. It is good to know that I am not alone and your testimony has encouraged me.
Richard you and me both! I am 52 years old tomorrow and in the same boat as you. I’ve wondered how I could be a Christian and yet feel the questionable consecration I have felt I have had. I have been in ministry as well and am ordained and even getting ready to leave to go on the mission field. I’m even considering the idea of stepping down until I get this resolved. Thank you Richard for your honesty. It helps to know that there are several of us battling with this. My prayer is that we can help each other get to a place of hope and put this to rest.
There aren’t just several battling with this. One pastor I know of said this is one of the most common problems people come to him with. I don’t know if you are still struggling. I have been struggling with assurance. I take comfort in knowing that so many others have struggled with it and come out of it. I have been so terrified that I was going to Hell so many times. Please all pray for me.
David, I have struggled with mind battles concerning whether I am saved or not for a long time. One thing that has helped me is this, as my Daddy has testified, thieves don’t try to break into empty houses and neither does the devil. If he is attacking you then he sees something valuable inside of you and he wants to steal it. I still struggle on a daily basis as I have for the past 8-9 years but I’m trying my best to trust God and grow my faith. Please pray for me that I will be an overcomer. I pray that God will help us all.
“Thieves don’t break into empty houses and neither does the devil”
I needed to hear that more than you know. I’m 37 and feel like I’ve been under attack spiritually ever since I have my life over to the Lord at 12 years old @ vacation bible school. Thank you for helping me cast away the doubt that’s plagued me for years. Truly. Sometimes it takes just one person to help you put it all into perspective. ❤️
Hope and David. God bless and keep you. The LORD has been giving me the victory in this. You must see yourself through the eyes of God. When we said “Yes Lord I am a sinner, and I accept your payment for my sin debt. “Confess with thy mouth… believe in thine heart God raised him from the dead…
Romans 8:17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ;…
Tap into who you are as a new creation of God and He will make you a fisher of mens souls to the glory of God!!
1 John 4:17(b)…because as he is, so are we in this world.
Heirs to God, Holy Priesthood, Pilgrims and strangers in this world looking for our Fathers Kingdom Come. His will be done in earth…
Amen Amen Praise The LORD!!
Thank you for this reminder Hope! This is definitely helpful to remember.
All of you please pray for me. I am 71 and low sick while struggling with the simple plan of salvation. I’ve prayed many times over the years. Former Pastor’s wife, Sunday school teacher, etc
I had to pray , call prayer lines, etc. To have the faith I needed and to believe.
Barabara, I am 67 and have struggled with assurance of salvation since I was 13. Recently came across something that has really helped: “…it is not the degree, quality, nor abundance of our faith that saves. Rather, it is the object of our faith that saves. Faith does not look to itself. It looks to another. And in Christ, the object of our faith, salvation lies (John 14:5). Therefore, it is also in Christ that our assurance lies.”
This really spoke to me and passing it along to you and all who have lived with the torture of being afraid we’re not truly saved. God bless you.
YOU ARE NOTTTTT GOING TO HELL!!!! THE devil IS A LIAR AND he KNOWS ALL he CAN DO IS USE FEAR!!!! i want to share my testimony my name is julie t. look for it, its going to help alot of people!
Dear Julie, I’ve looked it up but wasn’t able to find your testimony. I’d really appreciate if you could send me specific directions towards it. Below follows my e-mail. Love in Christ (from Brazil),
diegoribeiroabc@gmail.com
I’d like to read your testimony. I’m 78, and having doubts about my salvation.
I would love to read your testimony will you please send to me my email is Adf28771@gmail.com
Please send me your testimony. I desperately need to read it. Thank you
Do some of the things you do…I too wrestle and wonder…sin is always there and sometimes we are just weak. I have accepted Christ several times trying to reassure myself I am saved…I think when we pray the prayer of salvation that is when Satan picks his head up and says oh no you dont and starts polluting our minds with untruths. AS long as your sinning Satan is happy and leaves you alone. I have recent recommitted to Christ and am trying the best I can…submit to God and he is the one that changes you its hardly within ourselves.
Thank you Ronald. It’s comforting to read your story because like you, I had a bona fide experience at the age of 7 which I shared. After all the stuff I have been through, one thing that has helped me over the years is to realize, Jesus doesn’t play spiritual “hopscotch” and come into our hearts one day but leave the next. When I’ve prayed the sinners prayer over and over 1000 times like you, I haven’t felt any change, but in the last few years I’ve felt that that prayer was no longer needed since I was already saved and we don’t get saved 50 times. We get saved once for all. Seriously. I felt even convicted not to pray it as if I WERE unsaved because I wasn’t about to negate the real encounter God already did in my life. Instead I would pray (and still do) along but say it more as an act of rededication. Any thoughts?
Amen,I believe we a struggled with doubt when we first decide to come to know the Lord as our personal Savior I know I did but I began to believe God word over Satan words.
TO RONALD: It would seem that “get thee behind me Satan“ is apropos when those doubts occur for us. When he’s recognized he must flee. I also have found that increasing the amount of time I spend with the Lord each day makes a difference. In recovery, we have a saying… “Our mind is a dangerous neighborhood and we shouldn’t go in there alone. Take lots of friends with you!“ I think keeping close company with the community of Christ and interacting as we do here is taking lots of friends with us to help clean up the neighborhood! ???
Am I saved if I can’t remember the moment of my salvation?
Rennee, Of course! Jesus remembers! I don’t remember the date of my own either, but I know that I AM saved, and Jesus knows when He saved us –that’s all that matters: that HE knows His sheep, and we are among them! God bless you!
This is my fear, as well. I was saved when I was seven. I even know the exact day I was baptized shortly after my profession of faith. I do not remember what I prayed but I do remember praying with my parents and our pastor and one of the elders. I also know that in the Bible, “faith like a child” is mentioned. If I had faith like a child when I asked Him to save me at 7, surely He will honor that request, right?
“Child-like faith” simply means you believe as a child would believe. For instance, if you are a mother, or even if not, you as a little girl, remember Christmas? Remember when your parents would tell you Santa Claus would bring you presents? As a child, you probably believed that. As an adult, we know better, but children know only what they are told. As is, we, like children, know only what we are told by jesus and not only believe it, but have faith that it is so. Expectant. Did jesus say “whosoever believes in me and calls out my name, the same shall be saved”? If you believe that, then have faith and be expectant. We all have doubts. Mine occur early in the morning after waking from sleep. I think because 10 years ago, I lost my wife. We were both 29. It was a week before our 30th birthdays. Ever since, I have struggled with anxiety at night before bed and in the morning after waking up. It’s easy and simple, but our mentalities, what we have been through, these are what cause us doubt. The trick is to drop all of that. Drop our victim mentality and claim the promises jesus gave us in the bible. He wouldn’t lie. So why should we doubt him? The enemy causes us doubt. I didn’t even start having these anxiety issues with salvation until one day I decided to re-dedicate, renew my vows to jesus. A week before I planned to renew and re-dedicate myself, I had a massive attack on my faith that caused me to doubt where I stood with God to begin with. It’s tough, but I’m trying my best to keep my belief and faith in jesus words. Fear is a liar and Satan is the enemy spreading those lies.
Sometimes all it takes is testimonies of others saying ‘it was a sunny day on August 2nd 19whatever at 2 o’clock and I’m back on the merry go round with am I really saved because I don’t remember a prayer I prayed or I fell away from the Lord and committed sin, and so I.
I remind myself that salvation is in the finished work of Christ, not in me or in an experience. I believed He died on the cross..etc for me personally for the first time at a young age and that heart knowledge/faith was all it took to seal me forever.
I pray I don’t give place to doubt and to the devil … it is so scary and it is torture..and I pray for others like you as well.
Renee, it doesn’t matter if you remember the day or the moment that you ask Christ into your life. Only thing that matters is that you remembered that you did. God knows the date and time and he has it written down. Pastor and Dr. David Jeremiah spoke about this. I hope this helps.
Same. Years of doubt, praying, counseling and troubled heart over here. I have a book that describes this kind of doubt and emotional stress having led to PTSD of sorts! It is no fun and I am sure not what God has intended for life to be. My struggles have moved from being saved “incorrectly” to missing the boat on being saved to I saying I believe but then wondering if i truly do ? The latest is am I receiving Gods grace? Am I accepting salvation? I sound crazy but these are real things that plague me. Reading this blog definitely helps me to know that I am not alone. I know that salvation should be simple and the faith the size of a mustard seed is enough. So why do I feel these things?
Thank you for the posts.
Darla, it’s the devil. Even little children, Jesus called to Himself. Salvation is a gift, it’s so simple that even a child can receive it. Don’t complicate it. Jesus wants to give your soul rest. Matthew 11. Rest in Him.
Thank you for responding. I am
actually surprised at all of the similar stories as it feels like such a lonely struggle. Besides the Bible, any books you would suggest to reinforce the Truths?
Hi Darla I also have been struggling lately after a lot of change in my life and a good friend passing away. I recently read eternal security by Charles Stanley and found it helpful. And just praying that God will help me see His truth and not trust these feelings!
Hey Darla, im going through the same thing, i was wondering how are you currently doing? This was posted a year ago but i just learned today (because God told me) that trusting God at his word and promises in the Bible over what you know, feel, see, etc is what you need. If you feel like God has left you (which he hasn’t) find scriptures that combat that, and meditate on Gods word because God cannot lie. Get your heart, mind, and soul aligned with Gods word and his will and believe him and his voice over everything else, this wont happen like overnight, walking by Faith and Trusting God is not easy, believe me im going through it right now, but Jesus got the victory on the Cross for us, God loves us so much that he sent his son to die for us, and He sent his son not to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him, Jesus Loves you so much
Thank you for sharing your testimony Ronald, just what I needed to read this morning as struggling with the same issue, also a mirror image of my life, God is wonderful in bringing your words to my attention. Amen
Amazing. God is so Good.
My beloved wife of 44 years died 4 years ago, and sensing my feelings of grief,
emptiness and despair, Satan tore into me. I felt like Job. Depression, fear etc.
From confidence in my faith, I descended into a nightmare of doubt and foreboding about my Salvation. Like Job, I never stopped believing in God, but Satan lay on me the idea I had been a bad husband, and God was displeased
with me. I have always acknowledged Jesus as the Son of God, and quoted
constantly to myself John 3:16 and Romans 10:9 and I believe, but I have struggled with thoughts of unworthiness and terrified of losing Salvation.
I take Bible Studies and love attending my Church where I play piano.
When I saw your writing and the Bible Quotes, many of which I know by heart,
I felt a weight for the first time lifted off me and a sense of great peace, and
I know that my wife in Heaven loves me and is waiting for me.
I believe the Lord led me to your site to reassure me that He loves me,
and my Salvation is assured. The truth has set me free.
There will be struggles more I’m sure, but the fact that I have Salvation has given me new energy and impetus, to keep sharing the message of Jesus with a
better confidence.
Everything you said resonated with me. My profound and grateful thanks.
God bless you.
I was going to a Pentecostal church and a friend who goes there questioned my salvation because I have not had the evidence of speaking in tongues to show I have the Holy Spirit. This disturbed me greatly and she also told me that we are not saved until we meet Jesus. This made me doubt everything I had that at one time about my salvation. But I know that I know that I know that I am saved by grace through faith in Jesus Jesus Christ.
Always go back to the Bible. Nowhere does the Bible specify speaking in tongues as a necessary evidence of salvation.
Thank you for posting this I have been having doubts pretty much just a few months after being saved I think I have doubted almost everything about salvation that you could doubt.most recently I’ve had doubts because I wonder if because I don’t feel like I layed all my pride down if I’m saved and the verse from Ephesians that says salvation is through Grace by faith and not works has really helped me. I also struggle with not always feeling like I’m saved and I listen to my emotions more than the facts and even sometimes confuse the two. Pls pray that I will get victory over these awful
Struggles and thank u so much for the help I have given me and many others.
Prayers for you Danielle
I came to the Truth about 2 1/2 years ago. I was in a time of great affliction regarding my marriage. Through seeking, obeying, unintentional fasting, and forsaking of self, God truly blessed me with a deep spirit of discernment and understanding, and filled my once hardened heart with overflowing spiritual love. I came to truly know and love the Savior and trust in him Through my constant prayer and supplication, God’s mighty hand brought His Union of marriage together again in my and my wife’s life. Thank you graceful and merciful God. The troubled times are long past, and I have had to endure various spiritual attacks since. Nearly a year ago, it was suggested that I might pastor a congregation at a Saturday afternoon Sabbath church. I know that evil is always trying to derail, destroy, corrupt, and otherwise manipulate Christ’s followers. I need much prayer brothers and sisters, I feel that God is going to pour out great blessing of the spirit upon myself and my family, but as is always evil’s way, the spiritual attacks and doubts I struggle with are truly confounding and intense. My name is Jeff and I appreciate your prayers, may God bless you all in Jesus name Amen ???
I have been struggling with doubts about my salvation off and on ever since I got saved. Sometimes because of an awful feeling I get that feels like conviction but also fear, but most recently I’ve been doubting because when I got saved I didn’t truly give up my pride and also because I wonder if I just “got saved” to please my teacher who had asked me if I wanted to get saved. She had asked me on a Friday and then Sun during night service i began to feel fear and what I thought was conviction but also I felt like I should just do this now because she’ll just ask me Mon and I know I won’t say no. But I could not swallow my pride enough to go to the alter. I did want to b saved but I was afraid of what ppl would think of me. When she asked me again Mon she said she could see how I was fighting it in church Sun and I told her I did want to b saved so then we prayed and I asked the Lord to save me. I feel like the fear did go away but I did not want to have to tell anyone I was saved. I struggle so much with wonder if He truly saved me even though my pride was in the way of if because I still had the pride mayb I didn’t truly repent and it’s like I can’t really remember tht well what happened. I was 12 when I think I got saved. I’m 17 now and senior and I so desperately desire for God to speak to me and for e to know His will for my life. I also wonder if maybe this is punishment because I feel into sin a nd now there is a distance between me and God. I’m really need some guidance.
I be praying for you that you will overcome the devil. I’m also 17 and have a very similar struggle. If you want to talk to someone my email is wilsonlucky910@gmail.com
I struggle with this too. When I was around 12 years old I was convicted in church but I denied Christ and would never walk down that church aisle. I was a wild teenager and drug addict later on even went to prison. After I got out of prison I started going to church. After about a year of going to that church I was convicted so strongly that I didn’t even wait for an alter call before I went down that aisle and prayed the sinners prayer. It felt like a ton of bricks lifted off of my shoulders. In that moment I knew I was saved. A couple of years later I went through a divorce and got back on drugs and living a life full of sin. I lived that way of 2 years. I’m clean now and have started going back to church. I prayed in the church at the alter and asked forgiveness. Now I’m stuggling wondering if I was ever saved in the first place. How could I go astray like that if I was really saved? I still have a lot of guild about denying Christ as a child as well.
Remember that David in the Bible was considered a man after God’s own heart, yet he committed adultery and murder at one point in his life! Your guilt is not of God. Jesus has already paid it all.
I know Jesus loves me and I know I accepted him as my Lord. But I always feel this spirit on me that makes me feel I am going to die and go to hell. I have probably accepted Jesus thousands time lately and I meant all them and cried and begged to be saved, but I feel like I’m no good and I’m going to hell
Ephesians 2:8-9: For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. Remember, it doesn’t matter if you are good or not. Jesus is the one who has saved you, not yourself!
I know that exactly right but the devil has really beat me down and I can’t help but to think I’m not saved though I know I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour
Thank you for your response pray for me I just need someone to talk to bout it sometimes God bless you!
I have my days where I don’t feel saved and I know it not a feeling thing but still some days I feel like I’m save. I know I accepted Jesus Christ to save me so I know I’m save just feel depress all the time. God less all and if anyone needs someone to talk to my email is wilsonlucky910@gmail.com
Let’s not forget doubting Thomas was still God’s child 🙂 so no one can tell you that you are not allowed to have doubts
I have been saved for nine years now but even then I occasionally struggle with the doubts despite repeated reassurances. But I realize now that I am not the only one who has struggled. This is merely the devil’s way of hindering our walk with the Lord. He can’t take our soul but he can take our testimony if we let him. I’ve read those verses and I know them to be true because they are God’s word. I ask you all pray for me as I continue to claim His promises. I will pray for you all as well
The devil will never stop whispering lies to us ,ignore him as we are saved by our Lord for our previous sins ,sins off today and the future
I wish there was someone I could talk to, but there is not. I am alone. I am 70 years old and still I struggle.
I thought all the things I did was what God wanted me to do, but now I am at the end and I wonder was it good enough. Did I do what He wanted.
We can never do enough or be good enough. That’s why there’s grace. Rest on the truth that Jesus has given you His righteousness in exchange for your faith in Him. It’s Jesus’ perfection the Father sees when he looks at you if you trust Him for your salvation. The bible says if we confess with our mouths and believe in our hear that Jesus is lord we are saved (Romans 10:9). That’s it. You don’t have to do enough, be enough, or perform for God. Just bring Him your heart and ask Him to save you.
Titus 3
4 But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, 5 not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
Go to chatnow.org/chat to talk to a Christian who cares. I’m not sponsored; this is just a user recommendation.
Or, talk to God.
Dorothy, I will talk to you
God loves u so much!!!never is it too late for Jesus to save u.if u believe in what He did for u on the cross and rising from the grave,just ask God to forgive u,and u will be saved!praise Jesus!!! 🙂
Dorothy, I don’t know if you’ll receive this, but hope you do. I’m 72 years old, struggling with every question and doubt mentioned in this blog. I too am alone. I have no contemporaries to share with. I also have a fatal disease which prevents me from leaving my wheelchair for more than a few minutes. When I say “struggling”, I mean just that! It’s as if everyone here was privy to my private thoughts! I wake up every morning with doubts and spend the rest of the day fighting them! It’s been almost a week now but I’ve struggled with this my entire Christian life! God bless you!
Bless you Jim. Praying for you and we will get to victory together.
Please look at the website knowimsaved.com
Thank you!!
Dorothy God bless you! The Lord is aware of us – He knows our plight – He knows how many hairs are on our heads.
I just happened to stumble upon this site, and thankful I had.
I have had the hardest time with this as well, and I was raised in a Christian home as well.
All those verses shared on this site were very helpful.
I thought it would be nice for me to share some with you all, as well.
*For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. ~ John 3:17
(Our Doubts are Condemning thoughts and feelings. This is not of God).
*For God is not a God of confusion but of peace–as in all the churches of the Lord’s people. ~1 Cor. 14:33
(Doubt only comes from a state of confusion, and or Causes confusion).
*Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe.~Prov. 29:25
(Just as Confusion is not of God, neither is Fear, that is Fear of man or anything else but God Himself. That being said, I found that Fearing my Own self was the Exact SAME thing as Fearing man, for what was I, Human, which “man” stands for in the Bible. I feared my Lack of Understanding and Knowledge, I feared I could be deceiving myself at any moment and not Know it. He did help me see that By fearing myself in that way, made me out to be more powerful than Him, as Fearing anything else other than Him. The Fear Of The Lord is Pure, It KEEPS Us Safely with Him and Drives Us to Him, but All other Fear Blinds us to Who He really Is, and Keeps us from Him, if not Running from Him).
*If our hearts condemn us, we Know that God is Greater than our hearts, and He knows everything.~1 John 3:20
(This ones super Helpful! I Feared my own weaknesses to deception and blindness to Truth Because I Focused far too much on verses like, Jer. 17:9-10, Prov. 14:12, James 2:19, 1 Cor. 10:6-12;11:3 & 2 John 1:8, Matt. 5:13, John 15:2,6 AND the Worst one, Matt. 7:21-22, etc… without it’s proper context and or Keeping God’s Faithfulness and Merciful Character in mind, due to spiritual attacks I imagine, because I Seek God Daily and Know much of His Word).
*We love because He Loved us first.~1 John 4:19
(Confirms where our Love for Him and other’s Come from. Though we know the world can exhibit the same kind of love, sometimes sadly enough, better than “christians”, But the Love Of God, seeks to Forgive and Care even for those who have HURT us, and that is Not like the worlds Love. Plus the Love for Christ alone, that Draws Near to Him, and Takes time out to Seek and Speak to Him, those who are Not His, do not do that).
*For it is God Who is Working in you, giving you the desires (or will) and the power to (act on) do what pleases Him.~Phill. 2:13
(Like with the confirming Love of God that draws us out to Love, so is this here Confirming that we are His, if our Desires match those things that Please God, and Even Desiring Him in this way, Confirms it).
Take Comfort in His Judgment, and TRUST His Rich Mercy, for the things that Truly Matter to Him More are the Matters of the Heart. Just take a long hard Look at David’s Life, Or Peter who spent much quality time with Jesus for Years and still feared enough for his gaze to drift off of Jesus to his fears ahead while he bravely attempted to walk on the water, or how about his denial of Jesus due to FEAR of man….
NO sin has ever been Too Great for God Himself to Overcome and DESTROY it by the Blood (LOVE) of The Son of God, GOD Himself.
*My sacrifice, is one you only Desire O God, a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.~Psalm 51:17
*As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who Fear Him. For He KNOWS our frame; He Is Mindful that we are DUST.~Psalm 103:12-14
*My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you might not sin. And if anyone should sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous One.~1 John 2:1
*If we confess our sins, He is Faithful and Just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.~1 John 1:9
*What if some did not have faith? Will their lack of faith nullify God’s faithfulness?
Absolutely not! Let God be true and every man a liar. As it is written:
“So that You may be justified in Your words, and prevail in Your judgments.”
~Rom. 3:3-4
*God, Who has called you into fellowship with His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is FAITHFUL.~1 Cor. 1:9
*If we are faithless, He (STILL) Remains FAITHFUL, for He Cannot deny Himself.~2 Tim. 2:13
More Confirmations:
*For NO one can come to me unless the Father Who sent Me Draws them to Me, and at the last day I will raise them up.~John 6:44
(Confirming that we cannot or will not Draw near to Him or seek to Know Him if it weren’t God The Father’s Desires to Draw us to do so to begin with, as Jesus clearly states here ->Matt. 16:13-17).
*But the unbeliever (one without The Holy Spirit) does NOT welcome what comes from God’s Spirit, because it is foolishness to him; he is NOT able to understand it since it is evaluated spiritually.~1 Cor. 2:14
*The mind governed by the Flesh is Death, but the mind governed by The Spirit is Life and Peace. The mind governed by the Flesh is Hostile to God; it does NOT submit to God’s law, Nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh CANNOT please God.~Rom. 8:6-8
*Therefore I am informing you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus is cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.~1 Cor. 12:3
*By this you will know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God.~1 John 4:2
So we Know now that one cannot even Obey God without First having Been Drawn/Called by The Father to BELIEVE In Jesus as GOD, John 15:5, then Filled, Sealed and lead by the renewing and transformation His Spirit.
Now to Him who is able to KEEP you from stumbling and to present you unblemished in His glorious presence, with great JOY — to the Only God our Savior be the glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all time, and now, and for all eternity.
AMEN
~Jude 1:24
Thank you. I doubt every day He will show me peace and when I wake up again the next day I doubt and struggle again
This helped me more than you will ever know, thank you so much.
thanks for sharing your storyi got saved at 12 recommitted my life back in 2003 its been a struggle now it seems as if i cant get right talk to God try to make him apart of my everyday life i dont know if im not doing enough if im were im suppossed to be or God is just fed up with my short comings.im always encouraging others because its in me but I fall short my heart loves God and his son but my actions dont always line up with who i believe iI want to do right in the sight of God my intentions are well i dont play with God trying to just live like i want it just seems really rough right now
I’m 50 and have never had assurance. I just gave up; too tired to pursue this anymore.
Are you Robert Z of NC that I’ve seen in forums past and you have even talked to Richard Fulton?
I’m 61 and have never had assurance that stays for very long. But reading this website is immensely helpful to me, as it might be to you.
I got saved around 11 yrs old and got saved again and said many just im case prayers, ive sinned much more after salvation than before, im now 42, so ive struggled with God still loving a repeted sin afender such as me
this is happened with me to i start sin more then before
I’ve been a believer for 17 years. I’ve literally prayed over ppl who died and Christ literally restarted their hearts, witnessed to people in the US and Africa who by Gods Holy Spirit believed on Christ. And yes I still struggle with doubt. Please be encouraged. We need to keep reading, praying and interacting. Faith is a gift from Jesus. Love you guys.
I have been a Christian for as long as I can remember. I too have struggled with knowing am I really saved. There have been times when I’ve been so sure, like when my Mom was having heart surgery and a great calmness came over me that I knew was the holy spirit. But then I have times where I doubt and I think does that mean I’m not really saved cause I am now doubting.
It’s so hard at times. I know that our salvation comes from faith and that if I didn’t have faith I would not be praying to God so how could I not be saved. It’s so confusing. Some people, like my Mom for instance said “I have no doubt” so then I start to think if I am still doubting does that mean I’m not saved.
If anyone has words to help me, please feel free to share them.
I can relate to so much of what you’re saying. I remember more than once going through a viscious thought cycle of “If I doubt, does that mean I don’t have enough faith?” Not helpful at all.
Some people, for one reason or another, don’t doubt at all. And that’s a wonderful thing. It may be because they were saved later in life and saw a dramatic outward change. Or it may be that they’ve grown to the point where they are absolutely certain – they know Christ is in them because they’ve seen Him work, just as they know they’re alive because they’re breathing.
But that type of certainty isn’t a requirement of salvation, and it’s not everyone’s experience. I can say that I personally had lots of doubts at a certain point in my life, but I no longer doubt now. Does that mean I’m more saved than I was then? Not at all. But I am immensely glad that God has finally given me victory in this area and Satan no longer seems to be attacking here.
And that’s a big thing to consider. Satan can use doubts to really hinder our growth. As long as we’re doubting, it’s hard to get beyond that. So that’s why I encourage you to go back and back and back to Scripture. The call to salvation is simple – are you choosing to trust in Christ alone? To repent and accept the good news of the Gospel and His forgiveness of sin? If so, then believe God’s promises that say that you are His. Go back to His Word every time you doubt and choose to trust Him more than your feelings.
Because that’s another big problem – in our society we put so much stock in our feelings, but our feelings can lie to us. It doesn’t matter if we feel saved or if we doubt. What matters is who we are trusting in, and if we are trusting in God, then choose to trust Him who can never lie and whose love is never failing. And don’t worry about your feelings and doubts. If you run to God every time and choose to trust Him, your feelings and doubts should fall in line over time. That’s what happened to me.
Praying for you.
Linda everything I’m continuing to read on this blog is SO helpful but I’ve not read- or missed it- someone Else saying they doubt their Salvation because they don’t ‘feel’ this great love/ thankfulness toward God.
I hear my friends say stuff like that .. ‘I just love Jesus so much’ or ‘ I am soooo thankful to God’ etc
So I don’t know how to think about that : Obviously I am thankful there’s a way of salvation, but I must be very entitled or ungrateful or not repentant enough that I don’t exude great thankfulness To and love for God.
Which makes me doubt my salvation.
Then I go back to His promises and say to myself ‘it’s what He did not what I feel’
But then wonder why my heart is so dead and not falling down overjoyed w thankfulness..
And the cycle continues.
If you get a chance to reply could you Please please respond to my email so I don’t miss it ? Thank you
I have an off and on struggle with this which right now has left me depress and feeling condemn to hell. I give to church get nervous it i feel this hot feeling surround me when talking bout salvation so I think it conviction telling me I need to accept Jesus then I do but still I feel it every time and it’s gotten so bad i don’t want to go to church bc i feel condemn and I just want to die bc I feel like there used Jesus doesn’t love me. I know I asked for forgiveness and repented and accepted Jesus but I just don’t know why I feel like I’m burning up everytime the preacher asks if any be loss. Everytime I hear bout deceivers I think maybe it me. I’m sorry if I sound weird or stupid but please I need lots of prayers and help bc I’m so sad and depress bout this
Mayb this will help and may b it won’t but I struggle with the exact same thing. My pastor just preached a message this past sun. about how we need to get our minds off our problem s and On the problem solver. We can do absolutely nothing about our problems but the Lord can do anything so I have taken his message to heart and am doing my best to not think about my doubts but to trust the Lord fully with everything because I cannot save myself not can I stop these doubts on my own. I have also been told that it might partially b emotions. If u r more driven by emotion than facts it can lead to these problems. Also the part u said about wondering if Jesus loves u is a complete and utter lie of the devil and u should ignore it completely. The bible said that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. He love d us sinners (thieves, drunkards, murders, liars, and those that r just unbelievers) and died for us before we ever accepted him and for those that won’t except him so yes Jesus most certainly loves u and me.
Thank you my preacher also preached a message kinda like that Sunday. Just so easy to think your not worth it when you feel it sometimes and devil lies to you. I know it a lie but it just seems so real and I hope you praying for me. I love Jesus and i hate the devil and his lies he will not win. God bless
Believe it or not, I have had the same exact feelings in the past, including the “hot” feeling! I believe now it was a self induced panic attack. That’s how bad it was! That was years ago and things did get better for me, thank God. But this week, the doubts are back with a vengeance! I’m sure there are those who have struggled with the “feelings” about being a Christian. I don’t “feel” saved. I don’t “feel” the Holy Spirit in me. I don’t “feel” God” speaking to me. All I can say is, thank God we aren’t saved by our “feelings”. I believe that, but still struggle with the doubts. This blog has given me encouragement, however. I look forward to more encouraging posts.
I hope you see this Matthew. You are not alone. I have had your experience, exactly! Including the hot feeling. I will pray for you and send Gods blessing!
Jim B
Matthew, I am praying for you now.
Mathew hope you get this comment
I too experience a strange effect when I try to get into “the word”. No idea why or what triggers the episode. It generally happens when I am alone. Therefore I don’t like sharing my issue with others what I experience. Anyway thanks for sharing, I know we are not alone
Romans 10:9-10 (NKJV)
9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
2 Timothy 2:11-13 (NKJV)
11 This is a faithful saying:
For if we died with Him,
We shall also live with Him.
12 If we endure,
We shall also reign with Him.
If we deny Him,
He also will deny us.
13 If we are faithless,
He remains faithful;
He cannot deny Himself.
Let not the world or it’s worries pull us away from the love of Jesus Christ, but instead remain faithful and willing unto the end. He is our first love, even unto our death!
Jesus Christ is the LORD God of ALL creation! We must give up our sins to Him and believe in Him as our eternal Savior!!! All Glory to the LORD Jesus Christ!
I have struggled with assurance of my salvation off and on for most of my adult life. I have questioned doctrines and Faith and works and where they fit in with our salvation. I still haven’t settled it. I keep hoping it will click one day. But it hasn’t. Some days I just keep my mind occupied but this fear and doubt is never very far back in my mind. Some days I manage to not think much about it. Other days, I dwell on it, wondering if I will ever have the answer settled. it is nice to know, I’m not alone.
Hi
I believe what the bible says but the struggle in me is that i feel like my faith is not enough and im not too sincere about my pursuit in this Christian life.
I asked the Lord in my life in 2016 and what I remember is that I was horrified of hell. But up until now, i don’t have any adoration about Jesus and especially love for others. I know I’ve accepted Him many times as my Lord and Savior but whenever I feel like the need to know more about Jesus and think about the things I need to do like bible reading and such, sometimes I just back off.
I saw myself in my unwillingness. But i believe it is true. I just believe that I am not really fully willing and believe truly in Him. It’s like a head knowledge.
Worrying has become my habit and comfort zone. It’s like i don’t want to move out. I don’t have that willingness to step outside. I know It’s dangerous.
Ok once again i feeling loss and i believe its bc i am addict to this one sin and i cannot overcome it. Everytime i do it i feel sick and feel hot as if i already in hell. I have asked Jesus please take it, but it never seems to work. I really want it out of my life but i really struggling. I think i am loss but like most of these comments i have prayed the prayer asking Jesus to save me probably a million times and i just feel like my chance is over that i have let God down too much. I really love Jesus and want to live my life for him, but i keep hearing messages that tell me i loss bc i cannot quit my addiction. I need help.??
Help is available! You are not alone and it is never too late. Have you reached out to your church? I would also highly recommend finding a Celebrate Recovery program if you can.
I can help you! The answer is right in front of us, but modern evangelism has confused so many people about the issue of salvation. There is nothing wrong with you, except you are a sinner like everyone else. Please contact me, because is have time through this for five years. I couldn’t see the forest for all the trees, but God graciously has shown me His truth.
Hi Leigha,
Months ago, I decided to trust in what Jesus has done for me on the cross, His blood as the payment for my sin. However, I’m still often in mental turmoil with doubts, deal with intrusive thoughts, and so on. Leads me to wonder if I did truly trust? Advice? Thanks
Please help me to stop doubting.
I need help and cannot do this anymore. I really believe I am lost for the kingdom. Please write to my email. I am a bit sensitive to share. I will write to you seperatedly. amcnally@nust.na
He still loved me in my addiction and you can over come this addiction lay it down and no matter what don’t pick it back up yes you will feel the want to and yes you will think about it but just do it for 3 days and you will see for yourself you can go without it the devil is using it against you the very thing I used to help me which was pain pills was the same thing that trapped me I have been clean for 11 days now by the grace of God so God has got you you have to make the choice to put your addiction down
I have struggled with this for over 5 years. If anyone on this site is unsure they are saved, because they worry they don’t have enough faith, or maybe didn’t believe right or enough, or maybe you keep praying prayers over and over again, it may be that your faith is NOT IN THE RIGHT PLACE. Please go to this website!!! I reached out to this man and his ministry. He taught me to look away from myself to the FINISHED WORK of Christ, and trust/rely on what Jesus had already done for me at the cross. There is no prayer for salvation. It’s not asking Jesus to save you in the present; it’s trusting what He’s already done for you in the past. PLEASE GO TO THIS SITE!!! Modern evangelism has confused so many people about the issue of salvation.
I’ve grown up in church my whole life, and always “knew and believed the gospel,” but never rested my faith in it until recently. The gospel is so simple, but we can’t see the forest for all the trees. I pray that people will utilize this man’s ministry.
He has also written a book to help people with this issue. He struggled with it. Please seek this out! http://www.knowimsaved.com
I have read this and have spoken to the very person you are talking about. RF. Love his ministry and his testimony but I am STILL not at peace in my heart. Can you please get in touch with me – seabee2310@yahoo.com
RF advised me not to run to all these revivals and things but with ALL salvation stories we all hear it’s conviction, go to alter, believe and ask Him to save you and believe it of course then they get up and are saved, they know it, NEVER doubt it and have a glow about him/her. My fear is my missed my chance or chances. I believe in the word and everything it says and plead with Jesus to save me and have done it more than prob anybody on these forums. I’ve listened to sermons on crossing the deadline and many preachers I talk to at alters per say get quiet on that one which AINT good or they give me some cheerful encouragement with a uncertain look on their face. Anyone else been there?? Mostly what I see in these forums is people that are saved , had that time and place and the devil beats them up cause they slipped or faith is kinda weak and devil preys on them. It MIGHT be my case but when I’ve never had peace and had a false peace when I WASNT struggling and assumed I was good up til 2013. I’ve been down a hard road ever since with more professions than I can count. I feel like Gods done with me or I blasphemed the Holy Ghost at some point. Please!!! Anyone pray and help.
In his book, Stop Asking Jesus Into Your Heart: How To Know For Sure You Are Saved, JD Greear addresses those who worry they have blasphemed the Spirit: “…if you are worried that you have committed that blasphemy, you probably haven’t…your fear about having reached the point of no return is good proof that you haven’t. If you want to repent, He will always receive you.”
I have no peace either and I need help. Can anyone get in touch with me? klwalker2@hotmail.com.
I feel like God may be done with me. Need help. Please pray.
Hello, I bought his book, amd read it constantly . I still struggle with doubts even after this ..mine are always Am I really trusting christ or myself..? Please any advise
It’s amazing how satan is able to twist us into knots. Alot of times, preachers don’t help.
There will always be something lacking in how we came to Jesus. We are sinners! Our faith could always have been stronger. The words we prayed could have always been better. Our sincerity could have always been more heartfelt. We will always fall short… that’s what sinners do! But Jesus paid for all of it on the cross, even the mistakes we made when we came to him for salvation. Because of that, He shows us mercy.
Read John 6:37. Read Romans 10:13.
Come to him. Call upon him. Just pray this simple prayer:
“Lord Jesus, I fear I may be trusting in myself rather than trusting in you. I’m not really sure. I’m confused right now. But I don’t want to be. Lord, if I’m trusting in me, I renounce that trust right now. I am so weak, I can’t accomplish anything in my own power! Jesus, you are my only hope! Jesus, I feel so confused inside… but that doesn’t really matter. Feelings are not reality. You are reality. I know you came to save sinners. I’m a sinner. Jesus, right now I come to you. I call upon you. Please save me! Please forgive me of my sin! I commit this responsibility to you. Please do this for me! You promise you won’t turn away those who come to you. You promise you save those who call upon you. So, I place my trust in you that you have kept your promises for me. Thank you for saving me! In Jesus name, amen.”
After this, keep trusting the promises in John 6:37 and Romans 10:13 regardless of how you feel. Sometimes it’s good to pray to God and tell him, “I count it as a done deal. Thank you for keeping your promises for me. Thank you for saving me. I trust you.” This helps develop the thought patterns of faith in your mind.
Your story really relates to me. I got saved when I was 9 years old. I remember the children’s pastor saying, “ABC: Admit you are a sinner, believe that Jesus died for you, and choose him.” That was it for me. I wanted Jesus in my life right after that sermon and chose Jesus that very day to be in my life. When I hit college, I started having a lot of doubt. I was overcomplicating something so simple. The devil would make me think like I didn’t do it right or that I didn’t do enough. Reading this article helped me to see that I am saved. At 9, I admitted that I was a sinner, I believed Jesus died for me, and I chose him to be in my life. God heard me that day and he still hears me today.
I am trying to learn from your post. I have been seeking salvation for ten years, repeatedly trying to give my life to Christ. You said “the devil would make me think like I didn’t do it right or that I didn’t do enough.” You say “I chose Him to be in my life.” That’s where I guess I’m hung up. I keep THINKING I choose Him to be in my life, but then doubting I’m for real in doing so. Even as I try to ask Him to be my Lord and Savior, the thought hits me that I don’t mean it, that I’m faking it.
Hi Bob, that is EXACTLY what I’m struggling with right now. I feel like I’m saying it but not really meaning it in my heart and it terrifies me that I am thus condemned to hell. I’ve struggled with this since the age of 12, and it is debilitating to say the least.
Hello Valentina. I noticed that you replied to Bob. Please feel free to read my reply to him and you. Just know you are also welcome to “Friday Night Family & Friends Phone Fellowship” aswell. You will understand what that is if you decide to read the comment. Godbless❤️❤️
Yes! Twins!
A pastor told me at age 7 that if I was not saved God was going to send me to hell he scared me so much I said the sinners prayer At age 10 I wanted to be baptized but was unsure if I was really saved talked to mom but she told me If I ask God to save me I was and as far as she was concerned that was it So I was baptized and things went on never felt real close to the Lord but wasn’t worried then after I was married and our two daughters had made thier profession of faith I started worrying if what I did back in the day was real it really worried me I was so proud of our oldest daughter then two years later her sister I had been worried about it had ask Jesus to save me time and time again but still didn’t feel good finally went and talked to pastor he said one thing to do to go though the dinners prayer and be baptized again it felt good felt fine and that’s what happen . But again I had doupts I was growing in my knowledge of the Lord and felt good most of the time I even felt like God had told me showed be stuff to make me feel better about the doupts then I was fine again trying to live a good Christian life but doupts came back I finally told myself after going though a lot of uplifting Bible verses that I had meant every word I said to God when I had asked him to save me every time it would be the same if I asked him again knowing this I thought no matter what Jesus was always true to his word I had asked and he did not lie so he had saved me I am now 75 and dang it doupts been popping up again but now I know it’s not just me a lot of people go though this I love the lord and I’ve tried to tell and show people how wonderful God is what a great life I have because of him but the doupts still come maybe now I’m more confine to my house because of health concerns then I was before so maybe that’s Saten way of getting my doupts going again but thanks to y’all I feel better now about it knowing that Saten is at work and I’m just going to have to put a stop to it
Katie, this is an excerpt from Oswald Chambers, “My Utmost for His Highest” devotion (December 3) :
“When once you are rooted in Reality, nothing can shake you. If your faith is in experiences, any thing that happens is likely to upset that faith; but nothing can ever upset God or the almighty Reality of Redemption; base your faith on that, and you are as eternally secure as God. When once you get into personal contact with Jesus Christ, you will never be moved again.”
God spoke to me through this one evening and I finally realized that I had been trying to put my faith in “what I did” or “how I prayed” the night I was saved. Our salvation does not come through how we say a prayer or what we did. Your salvation comes from the finished work of Christ on the Cross and having a repentant heart. Don’t put your faith in your own experiences… it’s in Christ and Christ alone and what HE did. And HE knows your heart better than yourself. Place your faith in Him – not in your experience. HE is the Reality of your salvation.
Hello Bob??
I know how you feel. I have always felt that I am not being serious. Sometimes, I feel like I’m not being genuine, but that’s a lie. The fact that you’re even seeking salvation should tell you that you know Who you truly want in your life. Those confusing thoughts, the thoughts that make it seem like you don’t mean what you say are lies from the Devil. He doesn’t want you to seek God, Jesus, and The Holy Spirit. The Devil will always try and confuse you. The Bible tells us that the Devil is an “accuser of our brethren”in Revelation 12:10, but God is more powerful than him. We also have to remember that Ephesians 6:12 says, “We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” Our weapon against the enemy is the Word of God. When we start to notice doubt and lies coming into our minds that we know are lies, we MUST combat them with God’s promises. My family and I have bible study on Fridays at 7:00pm (eastern standard time) over the phone. It’s called the ‘Friday Night Family & Friends Phone Fellowship’. All are welcome to call. You are free to ask questions that maybe elsewhere you are too shy or too ashamed to express. If you ever want to call in, you can call 1-301-298-1561 and enter the PIN 561314. We are in this together. God bless❤️
I hope I’m not to late here. I have had the same struggles as Bob. So nice to know that there are people like me.
Yes!! Same!! Then after that notion passes I struggle that I am not receiving his grace correctly? So that is keeping me from being saved. What are we going to do?! Why ard we plagued by this??
Hi, my name is Anna. I was Adopted. My birth mom was a mom that could not afford to take care of us any more. This was After my dad got in an accident on his motorcycle. He was fine though. I was 9 months old, brother was 1 year (Robert), another brother was 6 years old (Nick). I got Adopted in 2008. Been in 15 different foster homes. Some times I got separated from my brothers. I was a Christian since I was born. Same with my brother Robert. Nick was a Christian off and on…
Then, he just did not believe in God no more. He threw his Bible away. 2017 he ran away. I felt like it was my fault. Because after Robert got taken away from us
it was only Nick and me in this new family…
He tried to be nice to me but, I was just the mean little sister, too my big brother.
After he ran away I never forgave myself. For how I wasn’t acting like the sister I was supposed to be.
I think about him. I WILL NEVER FORGIVE MYSELF, EVER!!!
I thought about suicide for a long time. sometimes I still do. I’m alone now.
Now he is living with my birth mom and my 3-year-old sister. I do not trust him to be near her or even touch her. Because what he did to me. I don’t want him to do to her. This is where I was starting to lose Faith in God… 🙁 🙁 🙁
Hi Anna,
I’m so sorry that you’re going through all of this. Do you currently go to church anywhere? Is there someone there that you can talk to? I really encourage you to reach out to someone that can help you through this.
No one is born a Christian – we must each choose to trust and believe in Christ. And when we do, He forgives everything – and gives us the ability and freedom to forgive ourselves. ❤️
But with how you’re feeling, I really do again want to encourage you to reach out to and talk with someone that you trust. ❤️
We can’t be bitter with our father, neither can we try to understand everything that’s happened good or bad. We can only pray for understanding and pray for loved one’s God is pure love. I hope you know you are loved!! I will say a prayer for you Anna. God Bless you.
Prayers for you Anna
Of the hundred times you prayed to be saved so you know which time you really got saved or dies it not matter.
I wouldn’t focus on which was the “actual” one. It’s just not helpful or necessary. I personally am not sure if I was actually saved as a young child or in 6th grade. But I remember the 6th grade experience better, so I tend to look to that one. But in the end, it doesn’t matter that you can pinpoint a date but that you know you believed/called.
I’ve struggled for almost 25 years with doubt of my salvation and standing with Christ, but one day I signed up for a Mere Christianity class and watch the doodles on youtube about the book. Combined with solid teaching and practical knowledge about who I am in Christ, I learned that almost every believer doubts and that just means the heart continues to search the deep things of God. I also watched Ravi Zachareus(?spelling) and Sean McDowell (son of Josh McDowell) debates and they just opened my mind to see how these doubts guide us to search for answers to keep our minds and hearts on Jesus, thus receiving and one day giving evidence of our faith!
I am struggling with the same thing. I thought I was saved at a very young age, but I don’t ever remember trying to live for God the way I am trying to now. That makes me wonder if I was truly saved years ago. When I hear people talking about people who think they are saved but are not..that really confuses me. It seems simple to just believe in your heart that Jesus died and rose on the 3rd day and that I am a sinner and repent, but then I hear someone say you cant half way surrender to God..you have to completely surrender to be saved and how do I know if I have fully surrendered? What if I think I’m saved and I’m not? That’s what scares me and causes doubt. I hear stories about people who are doing all these things for God in the church and living a righteous life, talking the talk and walking the walk, but never really been saved and think they have…so how can that be?
I too have and am struggling with worry, doubts and fears over my salvation. I believe Gods Holy word with all of my heart and have called on Jesus MANY times for salvation.
I have been clinging to several of the same passages of scripture that you’ve shared and when I stand on His promises I have confidence in Him and His word. Our (Feelings) are strong but we can’t rely on feelings, we must Trust Him.
Thank you for your article, I can definitely relate.
Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;
Philippians 1:6
I’m also struggling with doubt in my salvation. Especially when I mess up, and then I become anxious and become sick with fear that God won’t let me in the kingdom of heaven. I know Jesus died for me to be free from condemnation and that he loves me unconditionally, but I would still go into doubt. I want this doubts to stop now
Yes I am sitting with exactly the same problem because I also mess up badly and did not do the will of the Father. Although i confess my sin, I am not sure if He forgave me.
My testimony:
I grew up in a household where both my parents were and are fervently faithful in Christ. Unfortunately though, they are of different denominations despite a maintainable marriage. Growing up, I went to church for Sunday school, and then around 10th grade, church services. Frankly, I knew very well about God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit, various Bible verses and parables. However, it was the gradual problem of me putting them into action and keeping them in my head. One day, though, I made a mistake renouncing God all because I was having a bad day with my mom, but then several hours later, I came back, recognizing my mistake. From then on, there was this hysteria which plagued me for the better part of 3 years. Thoughts that I had lost salvation were the first thing that came in. I was baptized when I was 9, but I still hadn’t put my faith into action. I’ve prayed to God repeatedly to take away my sins, and also repeatedly prayed to Jesus for salvation. The mistake persistently haunted me and devoured many hours of my life. It was only until earlier in the year that I was beginning to place confidence in myself through key verses as Deuteronomy 31:6, Hebrews 13:8 and 2 Peter 3:9, and the overall biblical fact that God doesn’t change on anyone for any reason. I later came to the conclusion – after thoughtful prayer – that I had not lost my salvation, and thus Jesus did not rescind my heart from the Lamb’s Book of Life in Revelation. Ultimately, it was Satan trying to swallow me whole with anti-biblical persuasions. As I mentioned earlier, this mistake haunted me and still does to this day, despite repeated confessing to God to take it away, and Jesus for salvation. Assurance and acceptance are 2 things that are hard for me to understand. But after reading this article, I am in the process of assurance and acceptance. Jesus Christ has never taken away my salvation this whole time. It’s unfortunate though, that I never truly understood it. As I pray that Satan be gone and my assurance and acceptance will be full, I also pray that God will be of great assistance to setting my mind on things above, and not on Earth (Colossians 3:2). Praise be to God for His care in my life. Although no one is perfect, and that we are all sinners, I can still be rest assured that God will bring my heart to the Spirit of forgiveness, thankfulness and all the other fruits of the Spirit. Not everything we ask for will be how God wants it to be. We know that His intentions are never to harm us, but to fulfill us in modelling ourselves after Jesus Christ. Jesus died on the cross for my sins, and He rose again from the grave on the third day. I commit myself to the ways of Jesus Christ from this day forward. What trials may await, I will not be afraid to endure.
When I was a 5 or 6 year old, I answered that call to come forward and join the church. The first time I went forward, the pastor said a few words that I don’t remember and sent me back to my pew. The second time I went forward, the pastor believed that I had accepted Jesus. A few weeks later I was told my baptism was scheduled and didn’t know what that meant. I asked my mother and she asked the pastor to come talk to me. He and I sat on our porch and had a talk about what it all meant. Again, I don’t remember the words, but I remember the feeling. I was excited. I remember asking where pastors go to school. I know at that point that I confessed with my mouth that Jesus was the Lord of my life and believed in my heart that God had raised Jesus from the dead.
Since then it has been a battle of doubts of all sorts caused by guilt from my sinful nature and satan’s attacks. I’m 71 now and still battling. I will add this to my daily quest to remove the “shadow of a doubt” that many old sages my age claim to have be without.
Charles, I hope you get this. I’m 72 and have struggled like you. I seem to go thru these bouts of doubts way too often. My heart truly goes out to you, and I pray that God will lead you and guide you thru all of this!
Charles, you described my life almost exactly! Doubt of my salvation has plagued me my entire life. For every word or phrase, or verse I could find to assure me of my salvation, I would find almost as many that made me doubt! My heart goes out to you as well as my prayer that you won’t give up, but continue to search!
Jim B
I really needed this! I’m 17 about to go to college in one year to be a teacher. Ever since I was in middle school I have had periods where I have serious doubts about my salvation. I got saved in 2010 when I was 9. I truly believe I got saved then, but just like you, I prayed those “just in case” prayers hundreds of time, and I also just like you, I truly meant each one of them. I’m still struggling. I’m going to try what you said about writing down bible verses. Thank you for posting this!
Dear Linda,
I like the scripture that you draw upon, but whenever I read that anyone who calls upon the Lord will be saved, I think of that other verse that says not everyone who calls upon him will be saved, and then I automatically begin to worry about it. I have sins I’m always trying to overcome through Christ, but they’ve been life-long habits. I go throw periods trying hard not to masturbate, for instance, but after I take my sleeping pills I still feel very restless and unable to relax until I’ve committed that sin. I’ve changed sleeping pills. I hate being in the middle of the night what I am not
during the day. Please help.
I hope you will find this article on the topic helpful- https://carm.org/call-on-name-lord-saved.
I’ve said a prayer for you and that God will speak to and reassure you. God bless.
I too have and even as recent as this morning had doubts! Our choir director made a statement that satan won’t bug you about your salvation and I disagree! How else can he bother us to keep us paralyzed?!! Growing up as a “PK”( preachers kid) one would think I should KNOW!! As a comment before mine the struggle has been off/on! All of what I read here is good,really good, but the one thing that jumped out was….”is there evidence of change/growth”? Well just a few weeks ago my sweet bro-in-law was helping me saw up a fallen tree and as we worked, he out of the blue told me how proud he is of my growth in Christ and the evidence is evident!!! When I saw “is there evidence of change?”… I immediately recalled!! Prayers would be appreciated and I’ll be praying here too! ?☝?❤
I have placed several posts today after discovering this website. I have decided to give my testimony.
I was not raised in a Christian home. But I went to a Baptist elementary school in sixth grade. I remember, during that school year, sitting on my bed and asking Jesus to come into my heart. I visualized Him coming into my heart. I assumed I was saved after that, but I returned to public school the next year and did not go to church.
In about tenth grade, a friend of my brother’s asked me, “If you were to die tonight and stand before God and He asked you, ‘Why should I let you into my heaven?’, what would you say?” I said to him, well, I would say that I TRIED to ask Jesus into my heart in sixth grade. Would that be good enough or would I be on shaky ground?” He replied, “You would be on VERY shaky ground.” In a sense, that concept of being on shaky ground has stayed with me ever since.
I also remember, at another moment with the same friend and my brother, the friend saying that I needed to give my life to Christ. I felt no trust or willingness to do so whatsoever. I heard a voice in my head saying, “You don’t have to.” I know whose voice that was.
I understood at that time that I was not a Christian. And I understood I was a not Christian for about the next 45 years. I started going to church with my brother and his friend for the next few years. I went to church in college. After college and after my career started going well, and I was having a good time with my non-Christian friends, I stopped church. Then, about ten years ago, after my career had fallen apart and I had no more friends, I went to a psychiatrist about my OCD. He put me in touch with a Christian psychologist. Now, I have no doubt that this psychologist is a real Christian. Nevertheless, he enticed me with “easy believism” suggestions. So, for much of the past ten years, I have been seeking an “easy” entrance into the kingdom of heaven. It has not worked.
I have been discussing my problem with a good Christian friend via email for much of this time. One thing that has changed is my view of how God relates to people. I used to think that God was into tormenting people, because they are sinners. I understood it was either become a Christian now, and endure unbearable torment now, or don’t become a Christian now, and endure unbearable torment in hell after you die. I was choosing the delay of torment option, not accepting Christ. In an email some months ago, my Christian friend said my understanding was way off. She implied God is not into tormenting Christians because they are sinners. Suffering may occur, but it is not unbearable with the Holy Spirit helping you, and God is not tormenting Christians for their sins.
After reading that email, I did one/some of my many “givings of my life to Christ.” But throughout the last ten years, as I have been seeking salvation full time, I would repeatedly think I gave my life to Christ, only to doubt it shortly later. Over and over. All day. Every day. For ten years. I came off the “easy believism” illusion, but I also came off the “God is into torment, even of His people,” illusion.
I have continued in the cycle of faith-doubt. Last night and this morning, I was considering Paul’s statement to the Athenians (in Acts): “God now commands all men everywhere to repent.” And this morning, I was remembering the verse from somewehere in the Old Testament, “Salvation is not given to those who know what to do but to those who do it.” I was trying to look up that verse online when I ran across this website.
This website is a great blessing to me. I see others have similar struggles. I again believe I sincerely gave my life to Christ after starting to read. I now think I’m saved. But I have always, briefly, thought that before as I have gone through this belief-doubt cycle for the past ten years. I ask for prayers for me as I pray for you all.
So like most of ya I have asked to be saved thousands of times. I believe i am saved just i have an addiction of lust and i watch and think about sinful stuff . I don’t want it anymore. Any time i hear salvation being preached i feel loss. I don’t like going to church bc of feeling like this. I have been stress to point I can’t do Nothing.
Thank you for this post I know I am reading a long time later but I still appreciate it. I have always struggled with doubt my whole life (raised up in a Christian family and can’t really point to a specific salvation moment) and the past two-three weeks I have been really fighting the fear of “I don’t truly believe” much more strongly than normal. I have read books and some just cause more fear and anxiety (which started this fight). I think God is using this struggle to pull me in closer to Him. I have started walking out my faith more and trying to share Him more (even with this the doubt comes in with you are just doing this cause you know you are supposed to not out of genuine love for your bother). I think that is also why I am being attacked so much (anxiety/fear to the point of having physical stomach trouble). I have started to come to the realization that I just need to trust in the Lord for my salvation. Not what I did or if I believed enough but that God is the start and end of my salvation. Meaning He called me and He saved me. It is so so hard for me. Cause the attack is just so clever the doubt is always there taking the peace I get. God has come through for me so many times these past weeks and gave me that peace or “positive feeling” then it hits again and I doubt all over again. I used to be so even emotionally but now I am on the exhausting emotional roller coaster.
A lot of people have confirmed the trust in Jesus not “if I believed enough” in the comments here and that is encouraging. I am going to keep on fighting and keep on choosing to believe/trust in God for my salvation. I will fight the lies, Lord help me please. I just want to be free of this and live in His embrace, to have that confidence. I love you God I need more of you God, please free me from this. But not my will but yours be done I know you have plans to prosper me and those plans just may include this trial. Please be with me please help me please guide me. I need you God.
To anyone reading this lets fight together. I am praying for you now please pray for me as well.
Justin, I’ll join you in prayer. I’ve not shared my testimony yet, but will soon. Suffice it to say that I have struggled with doubt about my faith my whole life. I look forward to sharing with you and others here. This battle is sometimes relentless!
God bless you!
Thanks Jim! Praying for you. I’m still going through it but not as extreme. God has really been working on increasing my faith.
I first went to a church as an adult by my own choice a couple of years ago, came back home after living away for years, started of very well as a Christian going to church regularly and reading the bible, then started going to a different church, got baptised as an adult by my own choice, then backsliding a lot, I used to have additions not now , and as I understand it I’m born again the day or time I accept Jesus Christ as my personal saviour? And with the backsliding when I confess and turn from the sin and repent he is faithful to forgive me?
Would love to hear from someone. Not having any success. Thanks.
I couldn’t believe I found this blog. The doubts, concerns, nightmares, and tormented thoughts…..it’s like someone had been reading my mind for the past 50 plus years! It’s uncanny, really! I could easily put my name at the end of all these posts as the author! I’ve struggled with this my entire life. Much of it is caused by the desire to have “feelings”. Do I feel saved? Do I feel forgiven? Do I feel like witnessing? Do I feel like God is listening? I know full well that living your life based on your feelings is a disaster, but can’t seem to turn them off! I truly feel for everyone here. I wish there was some way I could help everyone here, but that’s Gods job I reckon, and we have to find a way to take Him at His word. I will share more later,in hopes that my testimony may help someone else. God bless you all!
Jim
I feel the same. I just want to hide under the covers.
If we have such a hard time taking God at his word then could we truly be saved ? I have believed to the best of my ability but the fear is still overwhelming sometimes. I know that God cannot lie and that his words are true but I’m still full of fear and doubts about whether I have really accepted and trusted the way I should .
I feel the exact same way !! I have trusted to the best of my ability but I am afraid I have not come to God in his time when he was going to give me the ability to trust. Does that make sense ?
It makes perfect sense to me . I feel the exact same way . It is so hard day after day !
I was told by my leader that because I did not know the plan of salvation that I am not saved. I love the Lord, I do not chase after prophetic words, I never desired a title in the Lord’s church. In fact, I prefer to serve and not be seen. I am a quiet heart and because I am quiet I am perceived as meek, deceptive and passive aggressive. I am chasing the Lord, I am not perfect, I have turned away from many things and people for ministry and yet, now, my salvation is now being challenged. Just sharing as I have been diligently doing my best to not stop as I desire to please God but when such things are said, it becomes difficult and causes one to question when my only desire is God without title or lime light. Threats of sitting me down do not bother me because I can love the Lord without the title because it was not my desire. To clarify, I am not offended by what has been said and this is not to say that I have not struggled with offense in the past. The problem is that because there is knowledge that I have, it is assumed that I am offended so that is something else that continues to try to hold me captive. If you feel led to comment please do so. The reality is that regardless of whether it is a Leader, friend, family member, the things people say…I refuse to allow these words to hold me captive and hinder me from what God has for me. However, I am in need of methods to develop more in God.
Anonymous, if you believe in your heart that Jesus died for your sins, you accept Him as your Lord and Savior, and are baptized, you are saved. Period. From there begins your spiritual growth into a mature Christian. The most cherished title I believe anyone can have is, Child of God! Go and grow!
Thank you very much… I needed this confirmation. I started a spiral 3×5 card binder collecting verses that God is not a liar and is faithful and unchanging. You are so right- the only way to quell satans attacks is with Gods Word. Thank you very much 🙂
I get scared that I do not believe in the ressurection. I have ocd. I want to believe the Bible because I want to be saved. Please pray for me.
Thank you so much for this post. Istruggle with my salvation constantly and this really helped meJust by reading it. Iwill continue to use this method to help me with my doubt. Thank youand God bless you
For anybody who wants somebody to talk to I am Here for you my email is wilsonmatthew193@gmail.com and my snap is Matt.wilson777
Just tell me you are from here. Don’t hesitate to text me anytime. I believe that it helps talking to people who struggles with this too
Hi i just emailed you regarding my doubts!
My name is Will and this is where I’m at in my life. I feel that God didn’t protect me or my sister when we were getting abused physically, mentally and emotionally by my mom’s third husband. We would go to church and I would hear about how God loves us then I would think about what was going on at home. So I doubted God’s love and I got it into my head why would He even want to save me. So I have hardened my heart towards God for a really long time, and now that I want to repent and get saved not sure that I can. Yes I do believe in God and I know that certain things that have happened in my life are only because of Him. But I have spent so many years being rebellious and disobedient and doubting so much, honestly don’t know I even can anymore
I’m so sorry. Have you considered pastoral counseling?
Two heresies are behind Christians’ ridiculous doubts about their salvation that was wrought by Christ. One is the Lordship Salvation fallacy. The righteousness of Christ is imputed onto us. We do not and cannot earn that righteousness as we already have it. We grow onto holiness as children of God but this is a process of maturation and not salvation. The prosperity gospel tells us that all children of God should be wealthy and healthy. If God’s children are sickly or poor than they’re not His children to begin with. After all, if Christ saved me, why shouldn’t He give me mansions, private jets, and the like?
I would add a psychological problem with many Christians. It’s very difficult to trust a being entirely, without your doing anything, with your eternal soul. We can’t see or hear God. We feel a little helpless trusting God as many of us grew up learning distrust as a way of life. God is not a human being. He is behind the plan of salvation wrought before He created the universe. He will not take back His promise and he doesn’t play mental games as sinful humans do.
I was searching for how to stop doubting my salvation, as I have been scourged by this ever since i first asked the Lord into my life. I am thankful to find this page, and can’t wait to start writing down these salvation verses. God bless everyone who defeats doubt from this.
I’m still struggling. I accepted Jesus genuinely at the age of 7 and I KNEW I was saved. I felt God’s Spirit woo me that night and I thought I was too young – but God knew better. I look back on that because I know God doesn’t play games with us – invite us to accept His salvation but then not come in. I loved Jesus all the way through my high school years and felt God’s call to missions as a senior. But all those years I was simultaneously fearing the possibility of missing the Rapture too, wondering if I would be good enough or ready enough. Then the Lordship question arose when I started to prepare for college. I began feeling prompted by the Lord to put that on the altar – a test if you will – but I was afraid of the cost or that I wouldn’t get to fulfill a dream of the school I wanted. I kept praying God would close doors if He didn’t want me to go there – those doors never closed and I went, but I struggled all 4 years of college. First because I still wasn’t sure I’d obeyed the Lord (wasn’t sure I was putting more onus on Him to shut the door than on myself to blindly trust and obey). Then I feared I was being rebellious towards God about surrendering other areas. Again, always the same prayer – God please close doors if it isn’t Your will – I never wanted to be the antagonist to God.
Over the years, in retrospect, I’ve since felt like I just wanted to find a way to do what I really wanted/hoped to do, but pray that it really was His will. Somehow in my gut I have felt that I just wasn’t the surrendered servant I always hoped/dreamed I would be, and that has caused me a lot of grief. The irony is I have felt God lead and guide my life in spite of my shortcomings, and even bless my efforts with success. I have embraced that as His favor upon me and rather than think He’s called me to something I dread, I’ve come to embrace the possibility that He nudged me into serving Him via the talents and abilities He’s giving me in music and education. My perspective has totally changed about His will – until recently I began the journey back to what I first felt called to – missions. No sooner my missionary appointment became official, I began to travel back in my memories of the ways I had felt over the years that I might have failed God.
Needless to say, I am still struggling with doubts about not only if my original conversion stuck, but I’ve prayed many prayers of confession and attempts to repent of selfishness, but it just doesn’t feel like they stick either. I’m also stuck on what “true repentance” looks like and if repentance and surrender to His will are synonymous or not. How do I know I’ve truly done the repentance part of the salvation equation? What sign is proof that I’ve truly repented or surrendered to Him that ensures salvation? Which part of my salvation is free?
I struggle with the same concerns, but was told to read my Bible. God says in the Bible that he will complete the work started in a soul. Don’t get into a theological debate with yourself, when you hear the doubts repeat bible verses about salvation to yourself
At 15 years old I went to church and this is the prayer I remember praying Lord I am a sinner save my soul for I have sin. I have lied cheated stolen cussed you name it I’ve done it. Before that I would lay n bed at night and wonder where I was going when I died. I went to church some read my Bible some and even said my now lay me down to sleep prayer that I learn from a child, but God let me know that it was not enough that I must be a Christian. It seem like soon after that I started to I doubt after I got baptized.The thoughts like you are not saved because you can’t remember believing that Jesus died for your sin and you can remember saying I’m sorry for my sins and forgive me of my sins.but I do remember asking God to save me and confessing that I was a sinner. But that all .This has been something really hard for me to sake, but I believe I must have believed God died for my sins and was sorry of my sin and ask him to forgive me or I would not have ask him to save me. At an adult it still brothers me.so I was just wondering what someone else thought about this. I believe it is the devil trying to make me doubt.
What about the narrow way, what about no cowards etc. In heaven, and he who Endures to the end shall be saved?
What about 1 Corinthians 6?
Can you explain further what you mean? I don’t think any of that contradicts that our salvation is a gift from God.
Ok so here is my testimony. I am 12 years old and was born into a Christian home. Before I was born my parents had 4 miscarriages. Then, in a time it was impossible for my mother to get pregnant, I was born. So I basically have grown up being told what a Miracle I was and how God wanted to do great things with me. I was baptized at the early age of 7. I was always close to God and never doubted my faith or salvation. But about a year ago I started to have some doubts about my salvation. Those doubts grew more and more and I slowly started drifting away from God. I found other idols to put before him. But Quarentine stripped me away from everything I considered my life and forced me to turn to The only throng I could,God. I found how I had drifted away and immediately started to dive deep into the word and his promises. I got into really close fellowship with him but was still plagued by my doubts of salvation. One night I was sitting in my room and I was just fed up with the lies. I asked God to Silence My doubts and help me to just believe in his promises. Right then, the devil threw many lies at me. I was shaking and crying and felt so distant from God. Ever since that night I have been doubting so many things and trying to get closer to God. But I feel distant from him sometimes and have prayed just-in-case-prayers too many times to count. I want to be close to the lord and get rid of these lies and lately, I have been going 1-2 days without doubts so I’m starting to make some progress. I am so happy I stumbled across this site looking at some bible verses. Great to know I’m not the only one who suffers these lies. But the devils whispers are just lies. But I still struggle. Could use some prayer and thank you so much for this site!
This helped me soooo much. Omg Linda you are a true godsend. Thank you so much for this post!!!! Honestly it changed my view, gave me hope, and some new scriptures to underline. God bless!!!!
It’s so nice to know that there are other people who think like me! I was starting to think that I was crazy for thinking the way I did. This gives me so much encouragement and ease. Thank you so much for sharing!
Hello, my name is Val. The posts below reflect exactly what I feel inside. I feel as though I’ve told myself I believe in Jesus’ work, but that I don’t actually believe in my heart and will go to hell because of it. Reading the posts below, and knowing that I’m not alone in this has been immensely helpful for me, but if someone is interested in emailing me who has or used to struggle with please do: valentina_ray@aol.com.
So I grew up in church, the Christian school attached to it, Christian college…you get the picture. I must have done so many “just in case” prayers and prayers out of pure fear or pressure. There were so many rules put in place it felt like a losing battle to try to be the “best” Christian and fit the mold they wanted me to be. I felt like I was in a pressure cooker. In college I finally broke. I wanted to love God but how, I had so many human flaws. I ended up running away from him and went into a deep depression, unable to cope with being in the real world for the first time and seeing people in the church as humans. It has taken about 10 years of God pursuing me. I felt broken, and a low point, my sister connected me to a Christian counselor who told me that God still loved me and that my life isn’t done. God can take my brokenness and make it into a beautiful mosaic. God doesn’t ask us to fill a mold, there is NOTHING we can do to make ourselves right, to make amends for our sins. THE ONLY WAY is by going to Jesus, asking forgiveness and then accepting his forgiveness. No amount of work on our part is able to justify us. I can’t be the perfect Christian. Because it’s impossible, only Jesus can be the perfect human. That was a revelation to me. Why of course! Over the next few days God really worked, I read verses that I memorized as a child but had no real application in my life…suddenly they have so much meaning and depth. I have been struggling with salvation. I have felt God’s peace but because I was saved out of fear was that truly salvation? And if I am saved could Satan be using this doubt against me somehow so that I would misinterpret God’s love? Thank you for this article because this is EXACTLY what I have been dealing with. I will be writing those verses down and praying for peace. Gods love is unfathomable. The only love we know is the love we have for fellow humans and for our pets. We can’t even begin to understand the type of love God has for us. So when I see it in my human lens, I don’t understand why He would go to so much effort for me..measly, small, insignificant me! But he does, and it’s just an amazing gift I am given.
I am still in the struggle now. I’ve been struggling for 10 months straight now and it seems never ending. But my story is a little different. It’s gotten to the point that I know im lost but I can’t get myself to genuinely repent, follow Jesus or want to serve him, I don’t think I really even believe in his power which is a huge no no i know. I was so bad at one time i was having bad suicidal thoughts, I’ve cried what seems to be every day for the past 10 months scared and sorry that I can’t seem to get my heart right , I’ve been more grumpy than normal. I thought I was saved as an 11year old girl. Im 32 now married with a 16yr old step son, a 4 yr old girl and 2yr old son. But looking back I’m not to sure I’ve ever had a real desire to follow Christ, just not wanting to go to hell. There is only one time I’m after I thought I got saved that I’m pretty sure God spoke to me, internally not audibly, when I was a teen I got into sex and drugs and I was really low and miserable driving alone one day and I swear it was God saying to me, come back to me try me again. It took some time but I was able to get off the drugs and stop having sex with my future husband for 3yrs before we got married. Then I started going back to church, started dressing more modestly, working on my road rage, I’ve taught some women’s bible school when asked and then finally became faithful to attending church and was trying to become faithful to praying and reading my bible and had just asked God for more and real faith when all these doubts started again. I have had them before but this is the worst I’ve ever had them. After thinking I was saved at 11yrs old I made two other professions of salvation but later always looked back at the first time for true salvation. But now I look at myself as a fake Christian and not able to trust God’s word. I just really wish I was never born. All the people close to me believe I’m really saved just being attacked by satan,but when they say that I think why would satan bother me he knows I’m not a threat to him and i won’t really do anything for God. Sorry for the long response, but i can’t get myself to stop trying and not give up even though I don’t see the point since i can’t get myself to get right with God. I’ve even tried reading books on proving God, Jesus and the bible true. I’ve tried reading almost all the verses you mentioned but nothing helps. I’m not proud of the fact that it seems like I’m slowly getting used to the fact that hell will be my home and I will have to see Jesus in heaven with those that truly love him ???. I just don’t know what to do. I use to listen to gospel music all the time and sing it solo in my house, but now I can’t hardly stand to hear it and I still make myself go to church but I cry during preaching everytime! I’ve even being doubting if this is God dealing with me. Someone please help! Please pray for me, I don’t want to go to hell!
If anyone has something to share to help me I would greatly appreciate it, my email is amcabee0307@aol.com
I need to be saved from hell but it seems my will(wanting to live the way I want to and not wanting to be bothered with loving God or living for him)is in the way and no matter what I do I can’t seem to break it. Can/will God help me with this? Does anyone know someone who had this struggle and did end up getting saved? You can respond on here or email me: amcabee0307 @aol.com
Ashley, I understand how it feels when you just can’t seem to get close to God. And I get how you want to give up sometimes. I was in that place I while back. What I did was I started at the beginning. I talked to god. Not about large things. But slowly throughout the day. Little things. As if I was talking to a friend. As the days went on, I would talk longer about deeper things. Pretending that When I was talking to god, I was talking to a best friend. I eventually came to the Bible. Still not having a desire to follow Christ as a full time servant. I started reading little verses in the day. Ones that would keep me going. Eventually I came back to god. I would hear his voice. Through scripture, friends, or whatever else. The only reason the devil attacks you is if he knows
God is going to use you for greater things or your getting closer to God. I have also had suicidal thoughts. Even if you feel useless, God can do great things with you.
You don’t have to bring yourself back to god, he will. Just start at the relationship. Just think of God as a friend. Don’t try to change your own heart. Trust that God will. I understand that is hard, but in the end, God restored me. He can do it to you too. You don’t have to have a servants heart right away. You don’t have to be perfect.
Just let god work in you as you talk to him. And don’t give up! God says he delights in giving you the kingdom! And if you draw close to god, he will draw close to you. Don’t accept you will go to hell. If you truly want to go to heaven, God will help you. Don’t try to on your own. But just start by talking to him. I will be praying for you!
The thing that I struggle with is sin. I was saved at the age of 7. Immediately I ran down the street and told my best friend and he accepted. I am now 55. I have seen God work throughout my life. He has used me and many of my friends have accepted Christ during my life. But, sin never leaves us completely. It’s a daily, hourly, struggle and I fall sometimes. Then, I doubt my salvation. It is just like Paul said. The sin I wish not to do that is what I do. Oh, who will deliver me from this body of death. Thanks be to Jesus Christ. Maybe, we will never be completely free of doubt… I just hope and pray on that glorious day, that God wins over my stubborn will and doubt.
I’m 35 years old. I was “saved” 14 years ago when I was court mandated to NA meetings. Prior to that I had attended church as a child and off On throughout my school years. In my addiction I prayed to be saved and relieved from the addiction …. it happened just not how I planned. I was baptized about 7-8 years ago… have attended church off and on. Try to read my bible or listen to readings as much as possible which probably is not enough. I try to pray daily and sometimes they’re very short and impersonal. Although I have given up street drugs” I continue to use alcohol… not daily .. and half the time it’s in excess. I’m now battling this addiction.. and it’s made me question over and over again my salvation. Because if I had TRULY repented of this I’d have been sober a long time ago. Therefore, are my prayers for deliverance unheard? I just started therapy… really no benefits yet. I often have this feeling of dread and anxiety that if I died right now… I’d go to hell because “no drunkard shall inherit the kingdom of God”. I want to say I’m trying .. but am I lying to myself? Some days I feel so close to God … others very distant and that I’m doomed to burn.
I am struggling to open my brother’s ❤️ and eyes…to finally believe he is saved by the grace of God…and not by his works in his life??
Please advise me on how to reasure him he is saved!!!???
I’m 14 years old and I figured this would be a good place to share my testimony. So basically at age 12 I started going through a rebellious phase where I hung out with the wrong types of kids, used bad language, idolized musicians, and looked to anything but God to fill the Jesus shaped hole inside of my soul. I eventually became very depressed and started wanting to kill myself and started cutting myself. I followed my desires about the wrong things to watch and listen to and let myself indulge in. I was very sinful. But, at some point. I don’t remember exactly what time but at some point, God convicted me of my sins and slowly I began changing. I started realizing what I needed to stop doing and started caring a lot more about what God thought of me. God stirred something in me that made me want to know Him and grow close to Him. I know that was God at work in me. Then, Corona virus hit and it gave me the perfect opportunity to develop a relationship with God. School was virtual, everything was closed, I had nowhere to go and nothing much to do. While Corona is a very serious and devastating thing that has hit our world, God used it as a blessing to me. He made me a Christian. I got saved. But it has been almost five months of doubt and fear about wether I am truest saved or not. I have been deeply scared and feeling like there is no way I will go to Heaven. It has taken me a long time to realized that Jesus paid for my Salvation. Jesus is my Hope. Jesus paved the way for me to go to Heaven. Salvation is still an intimidating concept but you just have to be patient with yourself. You have to know that He is the source of your faith and that your faith will always have flaws while you are here on earth but you aren’t saved based on your faith, you are saved based on His perfection. He did it all for everyone. Just choose to believe in Jesus and put your faith in Him. God never intended Salvation to be a super complicated, frustrating concept that only the people with the biggest faith can unlock. Salvation is for everyone that wants it!!! God is patient, faithful, loving, forgiving, caring and always there for anyone and everyone! God loved you enough to give up His most treasured Son so that we can be with Him forever. He wants to save you and He will save you if you confess, repent and believe! I still struggle with doubts but I am a work in progress. He who began a good work within you will finish it!
I’ve struggled with all of these things myself, especially the thought that maybe I wasn’t sincere enough when I asked Jesus into my life…so I’ve asked multiple times hoping I was sincere enough this time. No real assurance came about. I’m learning over the last 20 years as a Christian that it’s His faithfulness 100 percent. Something that has comforted me and makes sense is that unsaved do not have these issues, wondering and agonizing over if their truly saved or not. I’m thinking here mainly of people who think since they go to church their saved. It sounds contradictory but the fact that we all struggle with these issues is clear evidence that we truly are. God bless all of you!
Can you send me some verses on assurance of salvation
Bro thank you so much for this. I could have been doubting my salvation. Glory to God. Thank God for giving us life and sending his one and only son to lay down his life so we could have eternal life. I copy and pasted all those verses you gave but took the Titus verses. God bless you ?
I get confused , because it says once saved always saved(well some argue that) and it is by grace and not works, but it also says an adulterer shall not inherit the kingdom of heaven, so what if a saved Christian becomes adulterous or falls into one of the other sins listed as not inheriting the kingdom?
Here’s my personal take- someone who has accepted Christ does not look like an adulterer to God. S/he is covered by the blood of Jesus.
Im a 33 year old female who is struggling with addiction. I have been for awhile. I have been turning to the bible for guidance. Something happen to me that most people might think was just the drugs or I needed medication. Im in a very dark place. When I read the bible I doubt stuff in my head. It’s bad. I doubt stuff I never would want to. I have awful dreams. When I wake up some of them come true. I feel stuff In. and around my body that’s just not right. I have caught myself or remembered saying I wanted things to happen that i know i really wouldnt….I keep having flash backs of stuff that already happen. When I do I hear all these voices telling me what I did. It feels so real that I lay In my bed for sometimes days listening to it wishing I wasn’t feeling weak. When this first started happening I prayed so hard because I knew what was happening was not right. I even starting blaming everyone I love and thinking awful things about them. I’m lost. I have not felt right in a long time. Whatever this is making me feel like this literary sucked the life right out of me. Whatever is happening to me is more then in addiction problem. I was in my house one day and I felt my arm being grabbed by a hand that actually burnt my skin. Im still praying. Some days I should pray more. I still believe god loves me and so does jesus. I want to thank the people who opened up their problems it gave me the courage to open up mine.
Thank you so much for sharing. I hope and pray that you seek a therapist, pastor, and/or rehab center to help you. You do NOT have to face these battles alone!!!
(This happened when I was about 20, I am 55 now)
I had approached my pastor that I stupidly got baptized as a kid, who was following the crowd that went forward at invitation, thinking I could skip the salvation part. Fortunately, the Lord let me live long enough and heavily convicted me even though I knew I had made a mistake when I did it. So, when I had a talk with the pastor of our church, he said to then go home, to my room and let sink in the knowledge and plan of salvation. I remember distinctly the prayer I earnestly, humbly prayed…”God our Heavenly Father, I am a sinner, please come into my heart and save me and thank you forJesus who lived, died and rose again to save me, Amen” Now, here comes the question, that one part in that one scripture that says “confess that Jesus is Lord”…I never said that exact phrase in my profession of faith. (Side note – I have grown leaps & bounds in my personal relationship like never before and especially over the last year or so? and it blows my mind how awesome our God is?) So, is it just a satanic attack as I know he attacks us when we have a very notable event in our faith due to asking the Lord for discernment over something that doesn’t sit right with our spirit (which happened with me)…or he attacks when we are Hungry, Angry, Lonely, or Tired (HALT…an acronym I learned from Charles Stanley. I’ve been watching and taking notes from him since becoming a Christian.) What’s crazy is that I immediately asked God for help…he answered. I went straight to Google and a Charles Stanley salvation YouTube video popped up. He explained that that “confess that Jesus is Lord” is an agreement that we understand in faith we are willfully acknowledging that the one and only God that we are placing our faith in sent his son to save us…that its not words you actually recite. Then after this had popped up, a notification of his sermon also popped up…called…”Facing Satanic Attacks,” I kid you not! I feel relieved but I still dont understand why some pastors say that scripture as part of the salvation prayer but not explain it. Every time I hear it, I cringe because it’s a reminder of doubt even though I know better. Has anyone experienced this type of doubt? To me, it was heartfelt what i said in my salvation prayer…isn’t that what God is concerned with and not exact phrases?!?!?
~Blessings To All~
You never mentioned anything at all that The Lord gives us PEACE, Peace Wonderful Peace when they get saved. You don’t get saved over a period of days, weeks or years. It might take you that long to get saved because of your lack of faith and/or repentance, not The Lord. He can save you the 1st time you feel conviction & you repent and believe. You WILL go from worry, confusion, scared of Hell, to Peace INSTANTLY. Everybody must have a time and a place that they know when the Lord saved them. The Holy Spirit, who you didn’t mention, puts peace in your heart.
LAST, if you worry you might not be saved and you think the Devil is telling you that you’re not saved,,, are you sure it’s the a Devil telling you that you are not saved!? It might be The Lord Jesus Christ
I’m a believer in Jesus but still watch porn and masturbate and worry that even though the Bible says we are saved by grace not works Jesus also says “repent” but I struggle with this because it’s a lust of the eye and have done it for over 20 years but don’t want to lose salvation if I can’t repent from it but how can the Bible say “whoever believes shall be saved” by faith and not good works then repenting seems like my “good works” to me though so that’s a contradiction to that even though I’m a loving Christian and don’t let that private struggle affect other parts of my life.
Hi everyone. I came across this website and I’m so thankful… reading all these testimonies has really opened my eyes. I need prayer really bad .. I accepted Jesus as my savior when I was in 6th grade but in my adulthood I fell off track several times but would come back to Jesus and repent because I always felt empty and afraid I would die and go to hell. In my marriage I’ve had so many ups and downs we grew apart and started doing our own thing. I started a relationship with someone else still being married but separated living in the same house . I was on a path of destruction drinking and partying all the time. I was always drunk but there was always that little feeling of shame and regret I felt so lost .. I became pregnant and I found out shourtly after that the person I was seeing was already married and had recently had a child. I was so heartbroken . I cried so much and broke it off with him . Living still with my husband him going through struggles of his own and seeing me pregnant and broken somehow we became friends again and towards the end of my pregnancy we decided to try to make it work . He would be the baby’s dad. I’m so thankful and everything that happend that made my life better because of this baby I decided to come back to God and really follow him. My husband loves him so much but I have all the guilt of everything I did and although I ask for forgiveness all day every day I have a terrible feeling God is going to make something bad happen to me because of what I did. I have been feeling un well for some time now and I just had the courage to take an std test done HIV And all and I keep thinking I might have something and the baby and husband too. I keep thinking I’m going to die because of all the sins I committed . I feel like I have the worst anxiety . And more now since the pandemic … please pray for me
Oh, Dani. I’m so sorry for your feelings of guilt and shame. Shame is not from God! God forgives if we ask for it. He washes our slate clean. I have said a prayer for you. May you know you are loved and valuable and Jesus died for you!
Thankyou so much! This is exactly what I needed to answer my question. Tonight while my mom did bible study I asked myself if I needed to be re-saved or babtized since I feel like I’ve not been as close with God as I was during hardships, and I was only in second grade when I was saved so I doubted myself and my salvation but this made me remember how much it meant to me as I cried and repented from my sins even in second grade
Thank you all so much for your comments. It is so encouraging to hear from other Christians who are battling the same issues because sometimes you feel like you are the only one. Ad this issue is crippling. Just like you all I have opened up about this very personal issue I am dealing with about salvation to others in my circle and I just feel crazy and embarrassed to be going to something like this and be leading in the church. But you guys honesty has really helped. Being the body of Christ is more than just the four walls of my church but includes all Christians. Thank you and I will be praying for all of us to have peace and claim God’s word over our lives so we can be set free and move boldly in the life that He has for us 🙂
I was saved at the age of 24 but even to this day I have doubts of my salvation due to all the horrible things have done in the past
I have come to this page so many times for my doubts. It helps me so much every time. I KNOW Jesus is who he says he is and he died for me. I believe he is the LORD. When I was younger I was saved. I remember it to this day. I remember being baptised later in life. I have often times ran away from God even after salvation. I gave into my flesh. This started my doubt.
The doubt at first was simple. “You aren’t saved. You aren’t good enough. You left God.”. I could not tell for a long time those thoughts did not come from me. It wasn’t until I found this page that I realised they are straight from the enemy.
For a few days after I found this page I felt so relieved. It wasn’t too long however that the doubts came back with a vengeance.
“That’s not true. He didn’t die. He didn’t exist. Science is true and the Bible is false.”. I have fought these with everything I have and prayed myself to tears. I know deep down inside I don’t believe these lies. I have even proven these thoughts are false with real, solid evidence that science provided. One time I was even attacked with the thought, “no, they didn’t find chariots under the red sea.”. I thought immediately “that’s ridiculous, I saw them myself!”. The thoughts would quickly shift to something else.
The enemy knows his time is short. He wouldn’t be much of an enemy if he didn’t attack us eh?
I read some comments on here, being in the same boat. I struggled forever. I looked at the comments saying to go to knowimsaved.com and shrugged them off as advertisements. DON’T. This is the truth. You don’t have to pray, repentance means changing your mind and just believing God. He said it was finished, it is. There will be people who will not agree with this, but I’m telling you RIGHT NOW that after I went there last night and listened to the FREE resources on that site I am now 100% certain I am saved. How do I know? I changed my mind and trusted on Jesus when he said it is finished. The doubts are leaving in droves and I had the first night in 20 years of fully rested sleep. I love you all! Please, I implore you all just to listen to the audio on there. You don’t even have to buy a book, just listen. This is why so many are lost that think they’re saved; they still trust in themselves. You can’t lose it, you can’t do it for yourself. You just have to believe. This is what Jesus meant when he said he will give us rest. He gives us rest from ourselves.
Timothy Not sure if you even check this anymore but thank you. This site brought me to Jesus. God bless you for sharing this link. Thank you Thank you!
I’m struggling big time with doubts about my salvation – more so because of my fear that maybe I lost it. I’ve never desired to turn my back on Jesus nor have I ever renounced or denied Him. But I have struggled with obedience and repentance and what that actually looks like. I agree with those verses mentioned above and I know God’s Word can’t lie. But I’ve tried to embrace His presence in my life a lot over the past 30 years, and I feel He has shown His love in a big way. It’s just this doubt as to whether He’s really there and especially now over the past 5 months – I fear I may have crossed over by violating Hebrews 10:29.
The sin here mentioned is a total and final falling away, when men, with a full and fixed will and resolution, despise and reject Christ, the only Savior; despise and resist the Spirit, the only Sanctifier; and despise and renounce the gospel, the only way of salvation, and the words of eternal life.
I don’t perceive from what you stated above, that you have willfully turned away from God and the sacrificial Lamb that he sent which was Jesus Christ. I don’t see in what you mentioned above that you have rejected the gospel or the Holy Spirit. We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God and we will for the rest of our lives. We will continue to make mistakes. But when we love God and what he did for us in the form of Jesus Christ, we will feel sorrow for those sins that we commit and we will earnestly seek him out in the name of Jesus Christ and confess our sin, humbly repent meaning that we will endeavor not to keep doing that again and ask for his forgiveness. He will forgive and he will let it go. The problem is that we can’t comprehend perfect forgiveness. We have trouble perfectly forgiving ourselves or anybody else. We keep remembering the things that people did or the things that we ourselves have done. So we can’t imagine that God could ever truly forgive and forget. But he will. We can’t judge God according to our inability to be like him. If you’re truly sorry for the things that you’ve done and you go to him with a humble spirit and talk to him about it and ask for his forgiveness you will receive it.
Also, we have a tendency to think that certain sins we commit are beyond forgivable. I am not greater or more powerful than God. And no mistake that I make is greater than his ability to forgive. And just keep up your prayerful relationship with him every day. I find myself in need of forgiveness frequently. But he knows I’m honestly trying in my relationship with him and as I let him in more and more he changes me more and more. Don’t give up on yourself. Because he hasn’t. One of the things that we know is that “ God’s word will not return to him void“. That means that what he has promised in the scripture he will uphold faithfully. So believe in his word and believe in your salvation.
Encounter with God.
I grew up in a Catholic home. I never felt god, but maybe one time when I listened to the song. Give me your eyes by Brandon Heath. I cried and felt the Holy Spirit. Sense then I never really felt his love. I doubted and doubted until I reached about 15. And I unfortunately became atheist. I began doing drugs and eventually moved out of my parents to sell them. I began experimenting with LSD and Mushrooms. I started taking larger and larger doses until I had an experience that felt like the world was talking to me. I Called my parents and asked to come home. I began to suffer very bad anxiety attacks. I started to figure Out that music helped me cope. While at a girls house me and the girl both heard what we thought to be her dad coming through the front door. I ducked and hid in the closet and began to pray out of no ware. Some how it ended up being no one. Me and my step mom decided to take a trip to Louisiana from Texas and my anxiety skyrocketed on the way there. While I was on my way I was texting my second cousin who was very religious, and we were going to help move them back to Texas with us. The thought came over me that maybe god was trying to get me near her maybe she could help me with this anxiety. While I was there I developed sycosis. I was admired into a mental hospital were I was under trial by god and Satan using my diagnosis as a doorway into my head. I battled between good and bad until i was finally able to go home. I new god was talking to me through real things. I mean things that make me sound crazy. But I also knew Satan was trying to get ahold of me. I battled life and death situations and told no one about them because I was afraid of being admired again. Through the whole thing I discovered that i wanted to do the one thing i despised growing up. A Christian singer. I’m still battling Satan today but reading these stories has inspired me to write a book. I am 16 years old now turning 17 in October. I love you god you spoke to me through this website and these beautiful stories.
Has anyone ever felt, they don’t want to bother God with there hurt? Has anyone felt undeserving while praying?
I pray daily but when I want think to express my hurt/issues I stop and think(with tears in my eys) “I dont want to bother you Father with this” so I just pray for others, be thankful for what his dons and finish the prayer with “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart may it be accepted in your sight oh God my strength and my Redeemer”
I know how you feel, but you shouldn’t feel this way! God wants to hear from you more than anything! I have been studying the Bible in school, and I will tell you something that really stood out to me. God knows everything. He knows why your hurting, but He asks us to tell Him anyway, because He loves us. You should tell God how you feel. I think you will find that He can help you in so many ways that others can’t.
Hello. My name is Tavin. I’m a college student, and I have been doubting my salvation for about a decade. If any of you would please pray me, I would be grateful.
It is helpful to know that I’m not alone in my struggle over doubting salvation. In your post you stated, “You simply need to acknowledge that you are a sinner and deserve death but that Christ died to take your penalty and that He rose again and offers salvation as a gift. Repent of your sins, choose to follow Christ, confess that Jesus is Lord and that you need His salvation, and He will save you.”
Wouldn’t the later of this statement be works? All that is required is faith alone to be saved? Please clarify. Thank you!
Having excepted Christ as Savior a few times as a high school & college student, it was in my mid to late 20s that I undertook a serious study of what it was I was actually saying. I really needed to understand all of the layers & symbolism & intent & what Christ did on the cross & his resurrection. I felt God move in my life. I was driven to read every word of the New Testament & remember scripture. I was led to pray for people at various times. I had 2 deeply “up close & personal” experiences/encounters with the Holy Spirit that made the reality of everything absolutely undeniable for me. And it confirmed to me that God indeed knew who I was & loved me. But my life became very busy with a marriage & nursing career. I also struggled with addiction to pain medication & had consequences because of that. But again God brought me through those trials and in spite of the consequences my marriage & career remained successful & fulfilling. There were things I needed to be forgiven for & I felt his forgiveness. “I knew that I knew that I knew” & I had no trouble confessing that with my mouth. Yet in all of that I remained worried. Because of a scripture, Matthew 7:21–23. Reading that, I found myself feeling confused… On one hand I have been told that I could not be saved through Works or Works alone. On another hand I was told in scripture & by ministers that BELIEVING in Christ as the Son of God who died on the cross for my sins & resurrected & will come again, that I was saved because of that. But those scriptures in Matthew indicated to me there was more to it. I begin to wonder if I hadn’t done enough… But we also know in scripture that we all fall short of the glory of God… We will never be able to do enough. We need a Savior. I’ve come to the conclusion that in Matthew, Jesus is saying that it’s more than just saying the words of what I believe, it’s about the relationship with Christ showing through & the way I live my life & treat others. We can’t claim Christ as Savior & behave & live in a manner completely foreign to his commandments to love God & to love one another. I’ve come to the conclusion that I am indeed saved by the blood of Christ. But I should guard against being spiritually lukewarm. I shouldn’t just sit on my laurels & wait for Heaven. I need to live for Christ. And I have to stop making compromises between my faith & the world.
I think the Holy Spirit must have really led me to this article and comment section. The last ten years or a little bit longer I have and had been struggling with doubting my salvation. Even wondered if I was saved at all. I will tell you the truth right now and that is I am nothing without God. And right now I feel like I am nothing. Trying to get that passion back and be on fire when I really just don’t want to wake up in the morning just to do it all over again the next day. In so many ways this past year it seems like I could have had a breakthrough but then this CV 19. And I know we all have different opinions about this virus. And this is mine because it is affecting me on a different level. I need to read lips in society. There are a few who are willing to pull their mask down to speak with me. I for one do not wear one unless I absolutely have to. I like seeing people’s faces and smiles. Anyways….I feel like a lonely hermit. Wow. That’s the first time I said it like that. Anyways I am deaf with hearing aids and I really don’t go anywhere unless my anxiety level is high and I go for some drives. Maybe 2 times a month I will go for longer drives. Anyways I really wanted to after 10 years was try to be more involved. Get a part time job. But I have this anxiety we are so close to the end of this age. And I am having anxiety because I want to be sure of my salvation. After my nervous breakdown over 10 years ago left me kind of shattered. So ever since then I have been struggling to get the passion I had and be prepared for these last days. My life in reality as well as anyone else’s could be gone tonight or tomorrow. All we have is this moment. And in this moment I want to be sure. I have repented over and over and read Psalm 51 in the beginning over and over then finally I just gave up trying. And now when I try it seems like it is empty. And so I go through so many emotions. The worst one is being terrified that I don’t belong anymore. Am I really saved? I do read my bible quite more often then I used to but it is only in the morning. I have written down the scriptures from above and going to try that method of saying these things over and over til it grabs hold of my mind and spirit and make it louder than Satan’s voice. Ugh! Thank you for sharing all this.
You know what you have a point. I have believed all my life and I have grown up in church. Asked Christ into my life in children’s church but then rededicated my life as a teenager. Started off having a relationship with Him in high school but then fell off because I got so much of the Bible because attended a Christian school and grew up in a Christian home and went to church. I had never even thought about it. I figured I had so much Bible and so much teaching I didn’t even think about spending time on my own with Him. In the spring of this year God brought me out of a stronghold that I had been in for about two or three years. I have prayed the sinners prayer almost every single day since then. I’ve also been fighting doubts and questioning about the Bible and God and also my own carnal nature that wants to go back to doing things my own way. I think I’ve said “the prayer”so many times that I’ve placed the emphasis on myself and whether or not I’m sincere or asking enough or really meaning it. In fact it seems less sincere because I keep doing it. Not that the prayer isn’t good. It’s great there’s some people who think it’s wrong or not really needed but I think it is. The elements and the idea are in fact Biblical. But what I’m saying is I need to just stop praying and just believe. Because right now I’m having a hard time really wanting to live for God and being sincere. I think a large part is I’m looking to myself and inward instead of to His promises. It can’t hurt to try. If it isn’t right I’m sure the Lord will show me and convict me.
The above message was very good. Kindly indicate if I am saved given the undermentioned. I was a deacon/priest and a bishop 1997/2007. People say the organisation is fake who ordained me as deacon/priest and consecrated as bishop. Organisation being Anglican Church of India NOT affiliated to Church of England. Initially I did not take God/Bible (and lived a life of sexual immorality and other vices- All sorts) seriously but now I believe both to be LIVING since last one year.
KINDLY REPLY EARLY, AS I DON’T THINK THERE IS MUCH TIME LEFT FOR ME AS TOLD BY DOME PERSON (S).
I AM 65 AND UNMARRIED.
I have been struggling with doubt over the years. I’ve made a profession of faith 3 times and still cannot get it settled. The thing that makes me doubt is that my preacher says you have to know you’re lost to be saved. I made a profession of faith for the first time when I was younger but always doubted if i truly got saved because I don’t remember too much about it. Each time after that I can’t say that I’ve truly seen myself as lost before asking for salvation. It’s been more of a “just to make sure” kind of thing. I can’t 100% say that I’m lost because I feel like I’m saved. Does that mean all those times I asked God to save me it didn’t work because I didn’t see myself as lost?
This is what I needed, instead of believing my feelings, believe God’s promises.
I struggle severely. I question very frequently and am constantly assaulted. Please pray for me I fight a daily battle not to feel hopeless. I am struggling today I hear things like John Piper says that you could be a Esau who sought repentance and couldn’t find it even though he wept bitterly. I wonder am I hopeless. Then you hear of predestination and wonder if God doesn’t want me. What if I’m not chosen. All I know is i have seen the Lord work in my life. And the best way I know how I choose to follow him today and deny myself God me merciful to me and I beleive help my unbelief grant me the salvation I desperately want Amen.
Dear brother, I feel you as well as been there already! To make a long story short, the same John Piper that states such a thing also said that the predestined jars of mercy are those people who are actually PRAYING for His mercy (and that certainly makes you one of them, doesn’t it?). David Wilkerson and Derek Prince (not to confuse with Joseph Prince) are way more effective to clarify as well as to comfort according to the ways of the Holy Spirit. Bless you! Feel free to e-mail me @ diegoribeiroabc@gmail.com
“You simply need to acknowledge that you are a sinner and deserve death but that Christ died to take your penalty and that He rose again and offers salvation as a gift. Repent of your sins, choose to follow Christ, confess that Jesus is Lord and that you need His salvation, and He will save you.”
So first you said: Believe in Jesus Christ and then you make it complicate on your own?
Repent of your sins – is not a term of scripture, but we should after we repented about God, sin, salvation and Jesus and are saved
choose to follow Christ – is it of our own will? I thought it is not what we do, but what Christ has done
Confess Jesus is Lord – 3 minutes left to live there and nobody there, where I can confess to. How can I get saved *panic* Why did all the guys who were saved in acts didn’t done this at first, but were even called saved after the believed (acts 1 for example)
Even though I have prayed to God that I do believe in Jesus Christ, that he was born in a human form here on earth and that he died on the Christ to save all who believe in him, I still struggle to know for sure that I have earned being saved myself. You see, my wife and I have had 2 abortions, something that I didn’t want the second time but still relented to. It makes me sick to my bones that I did this and I have often though about how my babies are in heaven with Jesus. I just don’t see how a murderer like myself can ever be forgiven for such a heinous crime like abortion. It’s no different than killing someone by any other means in my mind. I am just sick over what I have done. That of course is not my only sins, for certain. But I feel like that is the very worst. How can God forgive me for killing my own children? Even though I have prayed, as I stated earlier, I just can’t seem to allow myself to believe that God can forgive what I have done.
I’m so sorry to hear of your grief over this. Remember that David in the Bible was a murderer and was still called “A Man After God’s Own Heart.” Jesus’s blood is sufficient to cover any and all sins.
So I grew up in a typical Mennonite home. I went to church but I nevermind understood it because they spoke german and I didn’t. I kept being told that if I keep going I’ll learn but I didn’t. And my cousin toolbox my sisters and me to her church and it’s was awesome. So i asked her if I could come again and she said yes. So I started going regularly. And I never really read my bible because it didn’t quite make sense to me but then a year ago we started going to youth and my sister started to read her bible on the bus and then i started to and I finally started to understand it. I couldn’t stop reading it. But then a little bit over a year ago and I had woken up from my nap and then the enemy kept putting these terrible thought so in my mind and wanting me to give him my soul and it scared me a lot. It had been going on for 1-2 days and the enemy had actually got me to believe that I did and it’s was just terrifying and I asked the lord for help the first night and nothing happened but then the next day I was laying down on the clutch and I could litteraly feel Jesus fighting for me. It was just so powerful and so the thoughts were stillness going on and then i had went to go read my bible to get maybe Mind off of the terrible thought so and the enemy trying to get my soul and then I just thought to myself and prayed to the Lord Jesus saying Lord I know you’re not going to let anything bad happen to me I’m choosing to trust you right now and I believe that you died for me on the cross and even though i don’t deserve it because of my sin but you still died for me on that cross because you love me. And so after all of that I finally felt peace, there were no more bad thoughts. It’s was awesome. But then still later on there were more bad thoughts And the enemy kept saying that I did and so in December I got baptized (I got saved on June 16) to show the enemy that he can’t have my soul because right now im giving my life’s to Jesus through baptism! it was awesome! Then when quarantine happened i started exercising and then one day whenever I was stillborn having bad thoughts then I told the enemy if i don’t do a certain amount of exercises then he can have it and so i was so close to doing the certain amount of exercise s and then i Had no strength left and so I lost thinking that’s satan finally did have it and then i just went into my bed and just confessed my sin and I knew God forgave me sin (1john 1:9) and the enemy has been putting in in my mind that he does have it and I’ve just been so broken lately and I know God keeps telling me to stop believing those lies but satan can be so convincing. And a lot of times I have done doubts about my salvation. So could you maybe pray for me. And so many times God is telling me to Be patient. I just have to wait. Thanks!!!
This might be encouraging to you! https://timeofgrace.org/demons-dont-stand-a-chance/
Hey sending lots of prayers your way!! I struggle with the same thing but I know God has been faithful before and will be again! When we are weak he is our strength. Let’s dive into his word friend and combat the devils lies w Gods truth!!
Hey sending lots of prayers your way! I struggle with the same thing but I know God has been faithful before and will be again! When we are weak he is our strength. Let’s dive into his word friend and combat the devils lies w Gods truth!
I doubt my salvation.
I was a deacon, Priest and bishop of Anglican church of India not affiliated to Church of England.
I doubted my salvation for over 20 years. I was tormented by the thought of hell and being rejected by God. At times I thought it would be better just to die than to have to live in torment not knowing I was saved. I spent many, many years is darkness and depression doubting my salvation. I would read every book, every salvation track and I’ve said the sinners prayer hundreds of times.
Today there isn’t a doubt in my mind that I’m saved. Here’s how to know you are saved.
First off don’t look to yourself. Don’t trust your prayer, your actions or you feelings. These will bring assurance until they don’t, then you will have to repeat to “feel” saved again. I’ve prayed and felt assured so many, many times. It will fade. If I have assurance based on my behavior then I will doubt when I sin, and you will. This is why looking at your evidence for salvation is a bad idea. King David could have doubted his salvation but he didn’t trust in his actions, he trusted in God, we must do the same. So don’t look at your behavior. Third don’t trust your feelings. They will come and go.
To have assurance you must do one thing.
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved.
This means that you believe God’s record about His son, Jesus Christ. You believe that he died for your sins and that He gives eternal life to those who do so.
There is nothing else you must do. It’s not your prayer, it’s not your good works, it’s not your repentance, it’s not you feelings. It’s something Jesus gives you because He wants to. All you have to do is take it.
It’s the simplicity of the free gift that sets the heart free. When I stopped looking at myself and my sin and started looking at what was already done for me is when I had assurance.
If you need help feel free to reach out to me.
chaplain.j.lewis@gmail.com
Bless you Mr. Sir! Hope you’re having a good day!!
Justin, I won’t bore you with my story because it is exactly the same as most of these others. I have struggled for many years about my being saved correctly, at the right time, was I genuine, etc..
Now I struggle with wondering if I am accepting the gift of salvation correctly? Like how do I accept it? And do I really mean it?
There is something seriously wrong with me?
I know exactly how you feel . It’s crippling really !
Buy the book Absolutely Free by Zane Hodges if you want to have complete assurance that you’re saved.
All of your comments are so very encouraging! i got saved on the 14th of October, 2020 actually! and satan began to fight me and plague me with thoughts like “am i really saved?” “you’re not saved” “you’re going to hell” . but i stopped stressing out so much when i just began to start trusting more in God’s word. it’s so comforting to know that i’m not alone!
Congratulations on being saved ? So glad to have you in the family!! Sending lots of love and prayers friend!!!
I have absolutely struggled with doubts of my salvation. This article helped me a lot. It reminded me of the enemy’s attacks. His Word gives us the Light we need to step out of the darkness the enemy tries to drown us in. I am praying to have a greater understanding of Christ and who I am in Him. I hope and pray for those reading this to be encouraged that you are not alone in the doubts. God uses it for our good, in bringing us closer to Him.
I had always had a doubt about my salvation for some time since my mid 30s. It was an all-out attack on my faith in Jesus Christ. When I read this passage it reminded me of how I had to combat the fears and the doubts. My works didn’t save me; my salvation was based on my heart believing and my mouth confession of Jesus as my Lord and Savior.
My Testimony 🙂
I somewhat grew up in a Christian home (my grandparents were Christians and I saw them a lot). My mom and dad divorced when I was 4-5. My mom didn’t leave though. She eventually left after things got pretty bad. My mom worked a lot, so I spent the night at my Nina and Papa’s house quite a bit. COVID hit. Around my birthday I started to question my sexuality. I then identified as a lesbian. I watched many bad things and I knew I wasn’t suppose to. I talked with my Nina, then repented. Weight on my shoulders felt much lighter. I was in a much more happy mood. I doubted my salvation a lot, and prayed the salvation prayer many times and felt renewed. Then the worry of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit consumed my life. Took what was built. My Papa suggested that I look at John chapter 10. I did, didn’t help very much though. Right now, I’m in the stage where I believe in Jesus Christ, but still feel like the Holy Spirit keeps calling me, so I pray the salvation prayer. It feels like I wanna reject Jesus. Feels like I just wanna go…I honestly don’t know what to do but just pray.
Hey friend ? I’m sorry things have been rough and I’m praying for you! I’ve felt the same falling into sin feeling like a “real” Christian wouldn’t do this or have this feeling. I’ve said the salvation prayer many times “just in case.” but still finding no rest. We have to remember that as long as we know we are sinners in need of saving and that Jesus has saved us once in for all through his life death and resurrection, and that you have repented and asked Jesus to come into your life you are saved! Remember what this article says God does not lie. You have to choose to trust God. Sometimes our doubts try to rebuttal, “okay what is God saying then?” and that’s when you have to pick up your Bible and remember you have all the answers right there!! He so loved the world he gave his one and only son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. He knows your heart! The devil is going to try to take lies that seem so close to the truth they throw you off but friend do not listen!! DONT GIVE THE DEVIL YOUR TIME. Choose God. immerse yourself in his word each and everyday. I know we can do this friend because the God that created the universe the God that conquered sin and death is walking with us! Also idk how old you are but along w your Bible lessons try “lies young women believe” ? they have one for women women as well when i told my friend about my doubts she recommended this book and it helped!!
I am really struggling with the question of whether or not I am truly saved. The specific thing that causes me to question is the second part of Romans 10:9 “…and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead..” I’m having a hard time with the idea of a physical resurrection not a spiritual one. Does this difficulty indicate that I am not, in fact, saved?
I also struggle with this.
WOW I am going to tell you that when I read this blog, I felt 100% as if I was reading about myself. I too struggle with this very issue. I am a Virgo and everyone says that Virgos are just worried too much about everything and I will not disagree I do worry about everything, too much. But when it came to my relationship with the lord, I really did/do worry. I have said to more experienced Christians and seeked out pastors to share this very topic. I used to be sort of jealous of those people who gets the warm, fuzzy feelings, or the sign right away, or the 180 degree turn around in their life, for me, it just has never happened that way, not at all. I used to wonder if God just had abandoned me and even question how come salvation seems to come to so many so easily but for me it seems that I have to work much harder than all the other people I know.
I gave all this a lot of thought, a lot of times, and I will tell you that i feel like I may have finally figured it out, God may have made me work a bit harder so I would appreciate him more, to humble me perhaps. I praise God however, that even though its come in drips and dribbles, he has never given up on me. At least I hope he hasn’t. I remember telling anyone who would listen to me that I have called upon the lord to save me and I never got any indication at all that he did. I have heard so many people say in their testimonies how they remember the time, the date, the place and so on. Well honestly I never felt any fuzzy feelings or any warm sensations come over my body or any miraculous sign and honestly I sometimes still wonder a great deal if I am saved, did I do it right, is there something that is blocking me, where is God when I have begged for a way to know, a sign or something to assure me I was actually saved. Once believe it or not I found myself so troubled over this very topic that I walked to a neighborhood church near where I live and sat at the front door. Church was closed at this time so I was there completely alone at the time. So I sat there crying and balling like a baby, I screamed out to God and I said, God now I can not get any closer to your house than I am right now. Now while its just me and you one to one, hear me as I call out for your guidance, wisdom, and forgiveness as I have never felt you and I have never gotten any sort of indication whatsoever that you saved me. Are you listening to me, do you hear me God, are you ignoring me God, what must I do to know that you love me and truly have given redemption and forgiveness. What more must I do to know more in my heart that I am saved? How can I be more sure you walk with me? I went almost two years into my graduate degree because it all fell through so you may say I am a more educated in science type of person. I used to wonder if that was the chink in my chain of connection to the lord. Perhaps I am not capable of believing in virgin births, dead rising up and being alive, walking on top of water, and division of the sea and so on. Does that even matter and God I need you to take away all this worry and doubt. This was probably 8 years ago and sadly, things haven’t improved that much for me. I dont read the bible like I should in fact, I barely read at all. I hate reading and always have honestly, and we all know the bible is sooooo deep and hard to read, and some of it impossible to understand. However my eyes are bad and my ADHD keeps me going back over and over to the beginning of a sentence, this is a real pain on top of the hatred I have of reading, I always have hated reading. It was the biggest reason I quit school. I love learning but not the reading part. I felt blessed to read your blog and to see that I am not the only one who feels/felt that way. I have learned though, that even with a small amount of faith, if you stay on track and pray and continue the right path and asking for help, your faith will grow. My faith has grown. However I do wish I could grow it much, much more. Anyone know any advice for me?
This may sound crazy but try the action Bible! it’s comic book style! no one is good at reading the Bible right off the bat (and trust me i get you reading and me don’t get along LOL) It takes practice and everyday routine. When i first started my journey as a Christian I would read a the chapter in the action Bible comic book and THEN read it from the actual Bible and it made so many more things click!! I also really like listening to the podcast “Exploring my strange Bible” they have helped me a lot with my Bible literacy. And hey! don’t get discouraged if you don’t get something in the Bible the Bible is so complex and amazing good for life long study! You’ll learn more every day as you read more and more. Praying for the best friend ? God loves you and I love you
Thank you to everyone here who have made me feel less alone in my struggles. God bless all of you i will be praying for you allana I ask for prayers as well. I was saved at 13 and God has helped me so more with my constant anxiety and doubts. Maybe the devils sensed more stress with me graduating college and has brought up a world wind of doubts again.
I realized many times I use the verse “take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ” but I always try to do it on my own!! I never take it to Christ. I need to embrace his truth to counter my doubts to bring it to him because I can’t accomplish nothing on my own but all things are possible for him.
I know God is faithful and he’s done miraculous things in my life 13 year old me could never imagine. Therefore I will cling to his truths we are forgiven and we are saved by the life death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.It is by nothing we deserved but all because of Gods great love for us! God has been faithful before and he will be faithful again. He will not leave us but he walks with us each and everyday. God is so good ?
I often feel doubt in several ways. First is the simple why do I keep doing some of the same sinful things if I am saved? Why won’t God help me more in my struggles against sin?
Sometimes even Biblical readings themselves bring doubt. I read the parable of the sower and wonder what if I am the seed tossed into the thicket or shallow soil?
I got saved back in 2017. i had thought i was saved when i was young but i know i wasn’t. The Lord was speaking to me for days and i thought it was doubt. come to find out He was speaking to me. I realized i needed to be saved but didn’t pray. I obviously believed but i can’t remember what i said. i doubt about that but the bible says that i have to only believe to be saved. i have said many sinners prayers but i’ve often wondered. if you told the Lord not to hear you, does he still hear your prayers and answer them?
It’s a Saturday morning and I celebrated my 58th birthday this week. I’ve often wondered how it is I’m so old and still struggle with doubt. I see I’m not alone. I appreciate first of all the original article written and the honesty of others. The most important thing that was pointed out was the fact that what brought deliverance was the Word of God. Plain and simple. We stop and think too much and that pause to think is where we’re taken in our thoughts to heights of ultimately unbelief. The Bible tells us in Ephesians 6:10-20 we are to put on the whole armour of God. It’s not OUR faith, OUR righteousness, OUR salvation, OUR truth, etc.
It is His.
His salvation.
His righteousness.
His truth.
His gospel.
BUT He gave two additional pieces of armour.
A weapon. The sword of the Spirit. The Word of God. This is what our writer stated brought her victory!
Faith. She took His words and began using them against the Enemy.
Wars and battles are never won in one moment, but over time the consistency brings the victory.
Our Lord will test our faith, be steadfast, unmovable, and continue.
The Lord gave her the testimony to share and so many have responded, now let’s take what we know is our responsibility and confess our sin of unbelief and use the Sword of the Spirit with our shield of faith to daily combat this enemy of doubt. We ARE over comers through Him.
Quote the scripture aloud. Our Enemy will run. Rev 12:11
“overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony”.
(by the way, if you wonder whether He really cares for you and what you face, the fact He led you to this website to her article clearly is His way of showing you He loves you and doesn’t want you to live this way any longer but in victory-no such thing as coincidence but providential guidance)
Joshua 23:10 “for the Lord your God, he it is that fighteth for you,”
I Corinthians 15:57 “But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Hello my name is summer i have doudted my salvation for years now. i dont know how to stop ive talked to my pastors and anyone that i would think that would help me.
ive struggle with did i mean it? Was God calling me? Did i miss my calling to get saved? am i truly saved? i want to be saved but i cant find the answer.i cant rember the time i got saved for how many times ive asked God into my heart or walking down the ale which i was always scared to do beacouse i thought everyone was looking at me.but i know i did ask him into my heart. i want to talk to God i want to hear him but i dont know how. i have always said i want to be in heaven i dont have to have a mansion ill cut the grass i just want to be with Jesus and my famliy.
I feel you completely. I want to be saved, I want to love Jesus more than anything, I want to stop having the desire for sin (I struggle with idolatry and controlling my tongue and thoughts among many, MANY other things). I just want to be close to my Lord Jesus, but I’m scared to spread the gospel, and I feel like I can never hear God’s voice. I don’t even need a mansion in heaven, I’ll scrub the floors or something. I too just don’t want to be apart from the Lord and His precious love or my family.
In the summer of 2008 I stayed away from home with my uncle and his family. My uncle at the time had been a pastor for 7 years. During that summer, at the young age of 11 years old, my uncle had shown me God’s word and clarified Jesus’ message to me. After our brief devotion I accepted Christ into my heart. I didn’t realize it at the time but at that moment I died with Christ 2000 years ago on the cross and I was washed with the blood of the Lamb. Fast forward to April 8th 2012. I was 14 years old and I was baptized in the presence of my church. At the moment I truly believed that I chose God, when I was 11 I had truly believed I chose To live. My faith was strong and I consistently felt the presence of the Lord. As a born again child of God I struggled so hard with trials and I praise God for revealing to me the words written in the book of James “consider it pure joy my brothers and sister when you face trials of many kinds.” That verse has stuck with me ever since I first discovered it, the words in James had never changed, but I did. In 2015, at 17 years old I joined the Marine Corps. I quickly fell into a massive pit of sin, not because of the Marine Corps itself, but because at such a young age I was sent into the world and all of satans temptations were thrown at me all at once. I quickly became an alcoholic, I paid prostitutes for sex, it became normal to swear multiple times in every sentence, the list goes on. I would even regularly ridicule one of the Marines that I was supposed to mentor for being a Christian, even though deep down inside I knew what I was doing was wrong. After my service I came back home and started to go back to church. Over the past 2 years I have had ups and downs with Christ. At times I felt close to the Lord and at times I felt nothing at all. But all through out that time I felt dead on the inside, my emotions were blank, I started experimenting with drugs, my alcohol addiction didn’t go away, but because I kept popping into church every now and then I was exposed to God’s word. I Kept having thoughts of “am I really saved.” Throughout my 2 years at home the Lord has put me through multiple trials and because I was faced with such hardship I felt the only place that I could turn to was the Lord. At the same time I felt like I wasn’t worthy of God’s saving Grace. I felt like I had betrayed God because since I entered adulthood I lived a life only for myself and not for Christ. So I’d say a prayer that I know I meant asking for salvation but I didn’t feel a change. I was caught between the ideas of “do I follow God or do I just keep doing what I want.” Again, I would pray prayers of salvation that I truly meant at the time and I would only pray those prayers because I thought “there’s no way I could have been saved after all the terrible things I’ve done.” But once Friday came around I’d go right back into the pit. My focus wasn’t on Christ, my focus was on alcohol and women and having fun. Essentially all I wanted was to feed the flesh. I went to church one day in the fall of 2020 and my pastor approached me and asked me to join a discipleship group that he was starting. I thought to myself “great, this is what I know I need.” Since joining I have grown so much in Christ, I truly do believe without a doubt like I once did, but the feeling of me doing so much wrong in the past still haunts me, and even though I’m slowly breaking away from my addictions I can’t help but feel a sense of me not doing enough for Christ. It wasn’t until recently that I realized I struggle with repentance. Every day I wake up and I think to myself” I want to serve the Lord,” and every day I fall short of the mark, but it has truly dawned on me that I will always fall short of the mark and as long as I keep my faith in Christ I will grow more like him every single day. It is such a blessing to know that wherever I go the Lord is with me. I realize that God never let’s go of his children. I am a child of God and it was the work of the devil that tried to convince me I wasn’t. He has not only a plan and space for me in his kingdom but more importantly he has the same thing for you. It truly hit me that Jesus is the friend of sinners. Just as Jesus had disciples he calls us to be disciples as well. Matthew the tax collector and Thomas who doubted are the same as you and me, yet their names are written on the foundation of the kingdom of heaven. No one is worthy to enter the kingdom of heaven unless they call on the name of Jesus Christ to save them from their sin, if that’s what you have done then it is a promise that I can extend to you through the words written in the holy scripture that God will not forget you.
Gracious God, we love you, thank you your faithfulness, love and mercy. We pray against the spirit of anti Christ,false witness,terrorism,idolatry, sexual immorality, sorcery,leviathan,jezebel,witchcraft,hatred,wars, pestilences, famine,divination and violence. We ask that your people who are called by your name would humble themselves and repent of their sins and that you would forgive our sins and heal our land. We pray that the spirit of darkness be lifted from America and the scales would be lifted from peoples eyes that they may see the truth and be set free. We pray for a return of all people to the fear of the lord and that the ancient foundations of American be not removed. We pray that in all things Lord you will work for the good of those who love you, who have been called according to your purpose. We pray that Jesus Christ guide the minds of those who govern us to promote the common good according to his will and that the leaders of our nation and the world may have the strength to govern wisely the peoples entrusted to them by the Lord. We pray that you would raise up leaders after Christ own loving heart and bring down those who would seek only their own power and glory. Reveal all corruption and let your justice prevail in the earth. Convict the conscience of any person in position of leadership who fail to serve their people faithfully and cause those who are unfit for office to step down. We pray for revival in our hearts and churches that God would rise up sheperds that are spirit filled, speak the truth in love and manifest the gifts of the holy spirit. We pray the Lord Jesus will grant peace in the land, and we will lie down and no one will make you afraid. We pray that the Lord would remove wild beasts from our land, and the sword will not pass through our country. Lord Jesus we pray that when the enemy comes in like a flood, The Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him. We pray for the peace of Jerusalem and healing for all of those affected by the coronavirus. Lord in your loving kindness and tender mercies hear our prayers and let your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. We give you glory for moving by your spirit and answering our prayers. In Jesus name Amen.
How could I say God is responsible for my life and when I make a mistake it’s my fault, and when I accomplish anything it’s to God’s glory?
Just thinking out loud. My nephew asked this question searching for an answer
here is my testimony!! i hope and pray it helps someone!!
i didnt grow up in church so i knew very little of Jesus, we would go to catholic church on holidays but thats it. when i was 12 i was in a foster home because of a dysfunctional home, im not including those details only to save space, but in that foster home the family would attend church and would ask me every sunday if i wanted to go down to the alter and give my life to Jesus and be saved, i kept saying no because in my little head i thought i was going to heaven bc i was catholic and they were going to hell. well after so many times of alter calls/sundays/wednesday nights one sunday they asked and i said yes, when i did i prayed the prayer they wanted me to repeat to give Jesus my life, and after i prayed i felt a very thick blanket cover me, and i thought this church was crazy for sure for covering the people with heavy blankets after prayer…so i picked up my head and there was nothing! no blanket! i was kinda shocked bc i knew what i felt. well life went on and my love for Jesus was always there, only i didnt stay following Jesus through the years of drug use, living in sin, and just the sinful chaos of not living a dedicated life with Jesus took its toll. At 19 i was attending a baptist church where i learned alot about hell that i didnt know before and little did i know…but the devil would use this for years to come, fast forward till the 2013 when i would be 41yrs old, i was in and out of church, since 12yrs old, to count the number of times i ‘got saved’ would be impossible for me to do, i cant count! its too many! so here i was in life on Feb 17, 2013 – a little back story is that i was married and it was me, my daughter from my 1st marriage and my husband and we just bought us a home 2yrs prior and i was addicted to pills, i was a full blown alcoholic waking up to drink and no bed time…instead bed time was called ‘whenever id pass out’ only to wake up brush my teeth with my whiskey beside the sink to hurry and drink to feel normal, my life was in shambles!!!! i was literally gray! i looked like death! i remember all those days leading up to this day crying out to God ‘help me!! this is not my life!!!!” i went to rehab got out got drunk and went back in for 2weeks and signed myself out bc my husand put the house up for sale and was divorcing me, my daughter was in her own rehab bc she was on drugs too…totally messed up situation! but there i was..2nd day out of rehab for the 2nd time and my husband wants nothing to do with our marriage, we were talking and he had built a lil fire in the back yard and i convinced him lets buy beer and talk… we did he got drunk passed out on the couch and i remember looking at the clock as i grabbed another beer i couldnt get a buzz whatsoever that night no matter how much i drank, as i was going to walk outside to go sit by the fire with my beer just before i walked out side i saw the clock 10:50pm i went outside sat by the red hot coals (no longer a fire) i sat in that chair and looked up and said “i want a spiritual experience” and remembering we once played a quigi board and through it in an abandoned home next door to our property to get rid of it…so i glanced over my shoulder towards that house and referring to the evil that very well came from that board i said “and not that kind!” within seconds…i am made aware VERY AWARE that Jesus Christ is approaching me from my right side …i turn my head to look and although my physical eyes dont see and at this point they didnt need to bc i knew that He was coming up to me and then He was right there!!! i immediately threw the beer and cigerette and joint out my hands and hit the ground on my knees and was immediately almost as if without my own control (sorda) i began asking for mercy and forgiveness i was in fear!! and when i say fear…..i mean terror!!!!! then the fear was lifting and i began to feel or know within me that “it was okay!” and all i could repeatively ask was “its ok?? its ok??” meaning im not going to die?? im not being judged and doomed?? but all i could ask was “its ok???? its ok???” and this time i knew without any doubt whatsoever Father God Himself spoke (not audibly but within me) very VERY clearly “Yes julie its ok!” and when He spoke there was instantaneous joy unspeakable!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and now im in my backyard my fists were clenching dirt weeds and leaves from the ground and im still on all 4’s …..and i looked up towards the sky and i asked one more time “its okay????” and He said “YES!!!” with laughter…still clenching leaves in my hands i lifted my hands and asked “Did i win the God lottery????” (i giggle at that part still!!! my innocence how priceless!!!) and what i meant by that was that i was in shock, and was i literally granted communication with the ALMIGHTY GOD JEHOVAH????? and when i asked if i won the God lottery….He laughed and said “YES!!!!!” and witnessing this joy of His and trying to take all this in…was astounding to say the least!! then next thing i know im hit with the joy of the Lord and the laughter and joy had me on the ground in my yard rolling with joy and laughter, i remember putting my hand up to say i cant breathe but never getting the words out…and it lifted and im laying there in awe and joy unspeakable!!! and 2 more times it hit me (what i now know to be the Holy Spirit!!!) the joy and the laughter was amazingly out of this world!!!!! and after the 3rd time i picked up my hand and i heard in my spirit (at the time i didnt know it would be in my spirit but now i know thats where i heard Him speak) i heard “Rest” …and in an instant…i was breathing calmly….which again was amazing me bc in 1second im laughing so hard outloud and in the next second im breathing quietly and calmly. and then as im laying there in yard breathing calmly now all of a sudden i am scooped up in Fathers arms and i knew it was like i was a baby in His arms. i was literally scooped up legs to chest and head up….in a fetal position as a mother holding a newborn babe, thats how i was in the Fathers arms!! then i was released and im laying there in my yard and thinking the encounter was over (little did i know it wasnt!) but i thought let me go wake up my husband bc i had a sudden urge as if the rapture was going to happen soon!! so i stood up and actually i walked in a couple of circles bc i was just in shock as to what the what just happened to me!! then i go inside go up to my husband who is sound asleep on the couch and im trying to wake him up shaking him trying to get him to repeat the saving prayer asking Jesus into his heart but he wont wake up….then i looked up at the popcorn ceiling thinking “can you still see me?” (i know…i know….crazy bc God can see all and yet i was wondering) and then the joy and laughter of Holy Spirit hit me again in my living room so now im on the floor laughing and then i hear “Get up! Stand to your feet the King is coming!!” and i stand to my feet at once and then my body on its own starts marching in place clapping my hands i even looked at my husband who is obviously deaf to all of this (i know now God put my husband in a deep sleep to not disturb what He was doing with me, in me, to me and for me.) i remember i pointed my finger towards my husband while marching in place laughing as if to say without words “boy…your life is about to change and you have no idea how good its going to be!” and then i had a sudden urge to go take a bath…go get in the tub! so i walked into my room and i remember standing in front the mirror looking at my body and an all knowing came upon me and i responded “im getting a new body? im getting a new body??????” now i thought i was about to have the skinny legs i always wanted, and i wasnt going to have the stretchy skin from pregnancy….etc., by far was that was what God meant when He said im going to get a new body!! so i went in my bathroom…and ran the water…nothing happened until i filled the tub up with water and turned it off. what happened next i believe is something the enemy capitalizes on…which even led me to this page about doubting your salvation…let me go on, so i turned the water off…i was immediately fearful, and i turned towards the doorway to my bathroom and i knew without seeing in the natural i knew without doubt that demons were at the door…then my attention was on God now and as i looked up to address God, i knew i was being seperated from Him for eternity and i began to experience a falling feeling..i began to scream in TERROR COMPLETE TERROR i remember screaming outloud “NOOOO!!!! WAIT!!!!! NOOOO!!!! WAIT!!!!! IM STILL ALIVE!!!!” i was clutching my toes as i was screaming and if God would have said rip them off and you wont be cast into hell i would have!!!!!!!!! bc i knew thats what was happening and the terror of hell was too much to bare!!!!!!!!! then i screamed out “JESUS SAVE ME!!!!!!! JESUS FORGIVE ME OF MY SINS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! JESUS!!!!!” and all at once it stopped!! immediatly the decent into utter torment and darkness stopped!!! and then all of a sudden i felt this ‘thing’ coming up from my stomach and i had opened my mouth so this ‘thing’ could come out of me and i yelled this horrific yell and it came out….the relief i felt and the
immediate exhaustion was overwhelming i fell back in the tub….then next thing i know im sat up and my head bends forward…then im sitting up again…and again my head bends even further to where its completely underwater and i notice i didnt even need to breathe!!! then im made to sit up and then my feet gets lifted up to where my top half is now submerged underwater!! then im picked up to a seated position again. i then get out the tub wrap a towel around me and go to my husband on the couch try to wake him but not with much strength bc im now shaking and weak and trembling, i lay back on the couch with him kinda slumped over him and then i pick up my feet and start rubbing them together and there is this fine oil all over my legs and after rubing my feet together my hands come up over my belly as if to follow a pregnant belly. then the whole encounter ended.
now…
what happened was God in His infinite mercy found me that night, and saved me!!! He had me call out to Jesus to save my soul, then He delivered me from demons, then He Himself baptized me, then He anointed me with oil, and gave me promise!!
i have had multiple encounters since then and they slowed down to hardly any since dec 2018, however He has been showing me not to go off of FEELINGS and EMOTIONS bc thats the first thing the devil can attack using fear!!! so ya’ll might be saying ‘well if i had that kind of encounter i wouldnt be fearful’ …..well not so fast!! just last october 2020 i went into my bathroom and when i knelt to pray real quick all of a sudden the atmosphere changed and turned completely evil and ugly!!! the immediate sensation was that i was now seperated from God and no longer belonged to God and that the demons were there to take me straight to hell!! i stood up finding myself repeating those same words “NO!!! WAIT!!!!” then i started rebuking the demons in the name of JESUS!! it left…the atmosphere turned back to normal…till 4 days later Oct 7 2020 it happened again! same thing!! and i rebuked it in Jesus name!! then this past easter 2021 i was asleep and i woke up to a demons trying to take me straight to hell!! i woke up(not really woke up bc i was awake…hard to explain) but i screamed out for Jesus so hard i lost my voice for a few days!! immediately after that attack (HEAR ME YOU GUYS ITS AN ATTACK!!!) i started praising Jesus!!!
this fear of going to hell started 2days after my encounter with the Lord!! its 8yrs later and the fearful attacks are still a thing! but thats all it is…..is ATTACKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! JESUS WANTS US TO BELIEVE HIM! BELIEVE HIS WORD ABOVE OUR FEELINGS OR EMOTIONS!!!!! I tell you even repeating my 1st encounter helps me see all the more how much of a fraud the devil is and all his underlings…. they are sent on assignment to decieve and lie using fear fear fear!!! if i can help anyone let me konw ill pray for you!!!! reply to this with your email or however i can get intouch with you..
FEAR IS A LIAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
BELIEVE THE WORD OF GOD OVER YOUR FEELINGS BECAUSE THE WORD NEVER CHANGES BUT OUR FEELINGS CHANGE THROUGHOUT THE DAY!!!!!!!!
GOD HAS NOT GIVEN YOU A SPIRIT OF FEAR BUT OF LOVE POWER AND A SOUND MIND!!!
SO GOD IS NOT THE ONE SENDING THE FEAR, THE devil IS!!!!!
I need help Julie. I’m struggling with whether I was saved in the first place. When I first professed my faith in Christ, I was 15 and I called out to him. He didn’t call out to me. My heart feels dead as I have been fighting a spiritual battle for a long time (10 months). I know that we don’t go by emotions, but faith. I know that I need to repent but I fear it might be too late. I have “repented” several times but it doesn’t feel like real repentance. I get no refreshment from sleep. Can’t relax. Can’t feel love or anything. Feel like I’m dead already and I’m already suffering torment. I don’t know if I committed the unpardonable sin but I’m getting no relief. Most people give up at this point but I’m not. I don’t know if I’m being very persistent or just stupid. My mind is messed up and I get brain fogs. I just want the love of Jesus in my heart and to be his true disciple. Why did he not ever call me? Was is it because God created me to be a vessel of wrath? Is that why he set me aside from birth? I know that he is all loving and he has a reason to where I am at right now. My sins have brought me here and I’m reaping what I’m sowing. I do want to be with him, so is this a chastening? Or a punishment? I can hardly function right now so I’m afraid it might be the latter.
God gave a wonderful gift of writing. Why did he allow the enemy to attack me last September? Was I sifted out as a tare because of my sins? My patience wasn’t very good then. Was is that? All I know is that I’m stuck in this helllish present, constantly stuck in the same cycle of regret over and over again. If I’m a Christian, I need to start acting like one. If God can save me, he can save anyone. I just need help and prayer. He will only answer in accordance with his word. If he gives me any other chances, I will be eternally grateful.
I have no fear and can’t feel it. That is the problem. I’m just a 36 year old autistic adult who may have very well sinned his life and strength away. God has been so good to me. Why did trouble have to strike?
Thank you for sharing your experience, and please pray for me. I don’t know why I keep bothering but who knows? Maybe God will remember me and free me from this place of torment and into his loving arms. Oh, that I could feel love and all the virtues again! Please pray for me.
My dear brother,
We may very well be from distant countries (I’m Brazilian) but I deeply empathize with your situation, for I have also been battling a VERY similar war for over a year already. I’ve also been endowed with a gift of writing as well as have also been pondering in hellish agony over those very questions that you wrote. There’s so much I wish to share on what I’ve found out throughout ‘my progress’ so far but, in a nutshell, I’d recommend David Wilkerson’s sermon titled “God doesn’t give up on his children” (there are some very reassuring stories/testimonies through this preaching – actually, from the get go); furthermore, have you, by any chance, held on to unforgiveness? Feel free to e-mail me if you want to elaborate a bit more on your situation, etc.
With true brotherly love in Christ,
diegoribeiroabc@gmail.com
Hi Julie. My name is Anna. Would you email me? My email is annamiller619@gmail.com Thanks.
Well Lord, I come to You in deep contrition & humble submission to say that I’m ashamed of myself for the thoughts that enter my mind lately.
I have asked God to save so many times, one night in particular I sensed the conviction of the Holt Spirit for salvation but I didn’t respond. Ever sunce I have continued to ask God to save me. I know it sounds strange but the Word of God gives me peace in my heart about it, but I go back to that night time and time again. I suffer from OCD and my mind has to be obsessing about something all the time. I’m medicated for it but it still rages. I have been convinced in heart that I committed the unpardonable sin. I do believe that the Holy Spirir is working in me and then I wonder is it just my voices that I’m fearing. Does anyone else have these issues.
My dear brother, I’ve been there for sure! There’s so much misconception regarding this subject (the unpardonable sin) that I have to share with you the best teaching I’ve found in years, from a TRUE man of God (late pastor David Wilkerson); I bet God will use it to heal you – so that you can feel properly loved:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTMh-MZmcpc
Love in Christ,
The fact that you are concerned about the validity of your salvation actually proves that you are saved. Before we hear the Gospel, we couldn’t care less if we are saved. We don’t give it a thought. When the Holy Spirit gives us spiritual rebirth, our thoughts become more about wanting to please God. We suddenly become very aware of every sin we commit. This is the Spirit of God working in our lives. You know that you are saved because you want to obey God.
I’m 70 years old. I’ve known the Lord since I was 19. I have worked in ministries ranging from a Christian coffeehouse to prison ministry. I have not always lived a holy life. I backslid for many years to where I almost lost all belief. I even dabbled in the occult: Tarot cards, Astrology, all the New Age stuff, not to mention sex and drugs. But God, in His infinite mercy brought me home.
Then, when my wife died 15 years ago, I got angry at God and turned away again. I didn’t stop believing, I just stopped obeying. I went right back to that old life of sex, drugs and rock and roll.
Then when Covid hit, I realized that I could die from it and suddenly began worrying about my soul. I purged my life of everything that was not in accordance with what was good for my spirit and rededicated myself.
But I wasn’t sure if I was being sincere at that time.
I kept asking myself if God had really forgiven me or was I just fooling myself. I don’t know if it’s my memory or the Spirit’s reminder, but I always remember the Scripture where the apostles ask Jesus how many times they should forgive a brother, 7 times? And He responded 70 times 7 times. Basically, He is saying always forgive your brother no matter how many times he offends you. If God expects that from us, then He will always forgive you if you ask.
We are not perfect in these bodies of ours. We continue to sin, hopefully, in small ways but sometimes we get caught up in guilt and avoid God, just like Adam and Eve did in Eden after the Fall. The longer we avoid God, the less influence the Spirit has on us and we begin to slip back to the old life. No matter how often we fail, we need to ask forgiveness and move on.
In my case, it’s vulgar language that comes out when I get upset. I’m always having to say, “Oops. sorry, Lord “when my old Marine vernacular shows up.
As the Holy Spirit shines His light on us, He exposes all those little defects we hardly knew existed. Even the smallest sin makes us feel like we let God down, and of course, we have, but as John said “He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Nothing can separate you from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus as long as you want to please Him.
Rick, your comments are spot on! We are human & will not be perfect until He that is perfect has come!! I am in a low point right now, with failures & problems. Reading your post reminds me that God loves us & is faithful to forgive us. Thank you for the reminder that nothing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus!
Hi. I remember when I was young and had pressure to believe from people that I said I got saved. But years down the road I was scared as the preacher said what if you think your saved and you were to die and end up in hell how terrible. I could not get that out of my mind for 1 sec it was like the Lord was shaking and not letting me think of anything else. I went to bed thinking I could die now and go to hell. In the morning I would sit on the couch for hours then walk around then sit again until I said Lord I will go to the Bible and read and I what you to show me how I can be saved. And I opened it looked trun to a different part until I came to a verse it said Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. those 3 words I looked at last come unto me. And I went to the nearest room and closed the door and asked the Lord to give me that rest and that he could take this burden away. And after that I had peace like no other that fear was go just like that and all that was in my head now was im saved im going to heaven. But a few years down the road I struggled with my sin it never bothered me when i was not saved but now evey time I would sin i would feel bad not to myself but God. But the last few months I have been struggling with am I really saved. And this doubt would come and go. I don’t feel saved I felt miserable alone emotions every minute I would ask God to help me and I would read and I would see something and be like yes then be happy then after I would doubt again. I would always think did I believe right did I say it right. And I can’t remember the feeling when I got saved nor the feeling I had when I knew I was lost what do you think?
me too
Please any advice is welcome. I am 12 years old. I am being raised in a Christian home. I was always a faithful child who loved Jesus, God and the Bible. I was so excited to go to Heaven. I always dreamed I would grow up and share the Gospel. I couldn’t understand how people don’t believe in God. A few weeks ago I randomly started having all these doubts. I am doubting Jesus, God and everything in between. These doubts came on so suddenly that I panicked. I am constantly crying, terrified, confused, and obsessing. I think I even had a mild anxiety attack. My mom suggested I talk to a woman named Karen who has very strong faith and is very involved in the church. She really helped me. But the next day I woke up and all the emotions came flooding back. I also talked to my Christian theripist. Same thing. My obsessing has now led to me being physically sick. I can almost never go to sleep and I am terrified I am going to go to Hell. Another thing that scares me is the fact that my uncle was raised in a Christian home and he is now an atheist. How did him and my mom go in such different directions? WHAT IF I END UP LIKE HIM???
WHAT IF I GO TO HELL???
Please please help me, this is taking over my life. I can’t function properly anymore.
I come from a background where we think about salvation as an ongoing, lifelong process. I lack the perspective of a particular moment of “being saved”, but I’ve known people who stress about whether their salvation “took.” I think you just have to look at your life and your spiritual growth. Are you living a more Christ-like life now than you did a month ago, a year ago? Are you picking up your cross and following him?
Aside from that, find a pastor or priest you trust who can help and guide you. We’re not meant to make the journey alone. And when all else fails, trust in God’s mercy. He knows your heart.
Hey, I’m 14 now & I started to get close with God since I was 13. Since the beginning of the Pandemic to be exact. It started off when I was watching TikToks & I started getting random Christian videos so i started watching them to see why I was getting those type of videos in my fyp. And, I started crying, realizing that I’ve never been close to God before. Hearing about the end times also scared me so I started watching more since I was starting to like those videos. I began following ppl who talked about God, I Started to Talk about God with my siblings, & I searched for more & more. But it wasn’t this perfect until the devil one day decided to tempt me & I fell for it. I lost my contact with Jesus. & I started cursing once again. I fell. This has happened to me so many times, & now knowing the Real truth, The gospel, The salvation, it has opened my eyes. And recently I’ve been suffering from panic attacks, everyday. It’s almost like a sign from God to turn back to him After all those times, turning away & avoiding him. I’ve now felt this huge eager to Get close & Be saved. I already Told God in a prayer that I believe That Jesus died for my Sins, & that he is My savior Who God had resurrected. The son of God, who is our lord, savior, the way, the truth, & the way. But I doubt my salvation. I feel like I’m not enough, like I’m failing God, like I’ll end up in Hell because I’m afraid I’m not trusting, believing & changing For him. It’s also been easier to not fall for the temptations, but I just feel like I’m not doing it right. I’m doubting God but I don’t want to anymore.
Hello. I pray someone can help me and I definitely need lots of prayer. I’ve never really even said all this before mainly because I wasn’t really sure about things and struggling with this my whole life. I stated to my church that I was saved at a young age/followed by baptism and I’ve been struggling with it ever since. I am now 33. One reason I never said I was struggling is because I thought I could get it fixed myself and another is because I didn’t want to be a burden to those who love me. I’ve recently come to realize I must not have been saved. I remember knowing I was lost and didn’t want to go to hell and told my parents and I remember them trying to tell me what it was to be saved but I don’t really remembering understanding or believing. I feel like it was just more me wanting to be saved and not go to hell because I have been feeling burdened by this from that night until now. I never really felt settled about it.
I recently realized that you can miss your opportunity to be saved. I didn’t realize that but someone said if God was still bothering me that I did not miss my chance and I pray this is true. I also just realized I’m not going to really pray God save me and then have a feeling like I’m saved. I have to believe and then. I will have peace. With that being said I have realized that I think my problem is that I don’t totally believe with all my heart. I am always doubtful. It’s not that I don’t believe it’s just that my mind has a problem just believing some things of the Bible. I think I have ocd and I just go round and round. I have these doubts/bad thoughts in my head that I guess is the devil and I pray God forgives me for this. Someone said they believe Jesus died on the cross for our sins but they were having a hard time believing the resurrection. I can relate to this. So my problem is how to I get to a place where I just fully trust/believe and stop disbelieving/doubting what was said. I am terrified. I desperately want to get this settled and to say with certainty that i’m saved. With recent turmoil in the world it has really been bothering me even more. It is causing me panic attacks and feeling sick. Please pray for me and please give me some wisdom.
Also email- bgscheer_01@yahoo.com
I have the exact problem. I ended up in the hospital over it! Talk about ruining your witness. I believe everything but my problem is I dont feel I behave as a born again. I lack the spirit. I’m”good” in human terms, but in the eyes of God I feel whicked and always go back to old sin it seems. I’m better than I was, but feel I’ve back slidden since my so called conversion. I’m absolutely petrified and have no idea the remedy. I pray we can find peace. It seems I’m more afraid of God than looking at him as loving and merciful.
Prayers for God’s Holy Spirit to fill you with wisdom to understand His Word, for belief & peace!
This message was a gift today. At 54, I sometimes still doubt my salvation. This makes a lot of sense. I know that Satan tries to put doubts in us, but yet I sometimes still believe the lies. I wondered if anyone else felt this way so I googled….and came across your message. Thank you. Surely God’s timing is always perfect and today was no exception.
In 2012 I was lost addicted and broken, 2013 I had found my way to a discipleship program and started to learn about myself and salvation. My whole life I have had a calling, little by little the lord was slowly getting my attention. I had been through so much that I just didn’t feel that I had the fight in me to overcome my darkness. Today I still struggle my flesh yet read my bible daily and very devoted to our lord and savior. I know that I am saved but the devil still prowls around and I’m not totally familiar with my bible yet I’ve read it cover to cover 3 times and read and study daily. Some days I get beat down and tired because until I know gods word fully, I feel I can still be overcame at times. I have bible verses that are a firm foundation for me but until Satan is fully disposed of, I struggle. I am asking for and want to share my faith. Thank you ????
What you are doing, specifically helping people who don’t “feel saved”
Unfortunately many churches treat people like they are all identical, some of us have heard many dramatic stories of people that instantly felt different like great weight was gone, I sure didn’t,so your mind, with satans help wonder that all those people experienced something different. I never felt weight of sin leave , great idea to look at verses that promise what is required.
I love the Whosoever” verses, however my struggle has been being told that, these verses do not mean everyone but only those chosen. John 3:16 is for the chosen only. I’m 60 and beside myself.
Thank you for these words it reaffirms what I have been feeling and trying to change especially now in my darkest hour thank you
I must have the same issue with my Salvation because I read your article, it is very good. I have talked with my Pastor and he said because when we question it, it is a sure signal that we have faith.
He said I’m sitting in a good spot. Abide in God’s Word and He will abide in you.
Lord I believe, help me with my unbeilf.
Thank you, yes I have experienced the same. This is very helpful and true. Will share this with my family and friends too.
Just what im looking for. The teaching is biblical, clear cut and brief.
I am glad to know I’m not the only one who doubts they are saved. I got saved at 42, I am now 61. I don’t know when I began doubting my salvation but I have said the sinners prayer so many times thinking maybe I didn’t really mean it. And I think one of the main reasons I doubt is because I don’t see spiritual growth in my life. I have so many struggles in my life the main one being prayer. I struggle with praying.
Me too Brenda. I struggle with praying, and I also struggle with reading the bible. I dont know how to get to where we need to be, but for sure, we at least need to be reading a verse or two every day, or perhaps even pick one out a week, and start memorizing it. We have to stand on his word. Even Jesus used scripture toward Satan when he was trying to tempt him.
So thankful to God that I came across this blog. I really needed this. I’ve been struggling so long. It all really makes sense now, to stand on Gods promises instead of Satans lies. This is really good. Satan has really tortured me the last couple of years, to the point of I was ready to just says whats the use. Thats exactly what he wanted. I want to learn to live and stand on Gods word, and what he says. Thank you.
As all these fellow Christians have expressed, there has never been a moment when they “knew” they were saved. I too struggle with this. So many Christian friends tell of their edifying experience when they prayed and had some miraculous thing happen to them that allowed them to say Thank you Lord. They “knew” they were saved. They knew immediately, or had some future experience that they could positively know. But without throwing cold water on their salvation, how do they know that their experience wasn’t a act of Satan that he did intentionally to make them believe they were save, but were not. If they go around in that condition Satan doesn’t have to mess with them any more. They think they’re save but aren’t.
For the first time through this blog I’m seeing a multitude of folks that have the same lack of knowing for sure that I have. I am exactly like Ronald T. and so many others here who have been at this salvation thing most of their lives. I have never had a single thing happen that I can put my finger, on that shows I am saved. I pray for that sign in my life so I know for sure the Lord has heard my prayers and granted me the forgiveness of sin and everlasting life through salvation, but it hasn’t happened.
I can see that so many are like this, but there doesn’t seem to be a sound answer or teaching about it.
I cannot say how much this posting means to me! I have it bookmarked on my computer so I can return to it when needed. I am an individual who doubts his salvation as well, and need the reassurance and promises in the scriptures quoted above. My prayers go out to everyone else here in a similar situation, and I’d be grateful for your prayers as well. Much love to everyone who has shared their thoughts, prayers and advice.
There is an awakening going on in the hearts of believers! Glory to God for this article!
1 John 4:13 Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.
Iv really been struggling with my faith for atleast 2 1/2 years now. I grew up in church and was baptized as a baby. Iv been married for 14 years now. My wife and I attended church off and on but neither one of us really were in the word. We both thought we were saved. This went on till about 6 years of marriage. At that point some major relationship issues surfaced. At that point I decide we needed to start attending regular so we found a church close to home and attended every weekend. My wife got involved by joining a woman’s groups and her relationship with God and knowledge of the Bible grew drastically . I really enjoyed going to church and my faith grew some but I didn’t have a relationship with god and didn’t know what the Bible really said cause I didn’t take time to read it. So a few years went by and I got caught up in a sin. At this point I knew I had to change. We both confessed our problems to our campus pastor and the woman’s group leader and asked for help. I quit drinking, asked for forgiveness and let God into my heart.I really believed I was saved. I joined a Mens group And started learning / reading my bible and produced fruit. Then the bumps came. I knew I was saved but the more I learned the more I question if i am actually going to heaven.This went on for two years. I quit going to study last fall and I have not been to church since Christmas. At this point I really believe I am going to hell. I still am in the word and have more fruit than I had 2-3 years ago but I fall short. I have had so many bad experiences with people (non-Christians and Christians) in life that I don’t trust anyone or much of anything that comes out of peoples mouths. I love some people in my life but I find it impossible to Love the people that I just don’t. I truly believe that I will go to Hell for this reason. I Love God and cry regularly for the punishment he has taken for me but still question if I am actually going to ever make it to Heaven.
I believe I got saved sometime around my early teen years, or as a kid when I asked my mom to help me choose Jesus. But since then I have made so many professions as just in case, and I am a sophomore in high school and struggled with fighting pornography and it has made me think I’m not saved but even though I cannot remember the exact day, this site has helped me realized that since I have put my faith in Jesus Christ to save me from my sin and repented of my sin, I AM saved. Thank youuu!
I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior when I was about 12 years old. Now I am 39. I lived a lot of life since 12. I have sinned numerous times, but I never stopped believing in Jesus. I did not read the Bible as much as I should have or went to church as much as I should have but recently I have removed all things from my life that distract me from God and have been fully committed to reading the Bible and bearing the fruits of the Spirit. But today I come across Hebrews 6:4-6 and I am now worried that I lost my salvation because I struggled with many things in life when I was younger. I have confessed all my sins to God, asked Him for forgiveness, and continually do so when I randomly remember something from my younger years. I try to set a good example for my children and live by the Word of God and try my best to be as Jesus teaches us to be, but now I am worried that I have lost my salvation. Am I overthinking this verse, or am I doomed?
It is impossible to lose your salvation. John 19:28-30 shows that Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice, once. We must have faith that our sins are forgiven once you confess them and ask for forgiveness. They don’t need to be forgiven more than once just like Jesus didn’t need to die for our sins more than once. You may find some answers here https://biblia.com/bible/esv/hebrews/6/4-6 and https://www.crosswalk.com/faith/spiritual-life/can-you-lose-your-salvation-11596904.html.
I am writing to you because for some time now I have been struggling with the issue of my salvation. There was a time when I doubted because I was going through a moment in which doubts about Jesus, his work, his word came to me and I thought how someone who doubts Jesus himself can be saved. However, this has changed and those doubts have gone with time. So I have chosen to confirm my salvation. But what happens to me now is that almost every week I pray for this, inviting Jesus over and over again to my heart and I feel that it is something that I cannot control, that if I go back and do it I feel safer and calmer, but it lasts a few days and I feel the need to invite Jesus into my heart again, because I feel that “this time it is more conscious than the last one” “that this time it is more from the heart and with faith”
And it happens to me over and over again. I know that this is not what God wants, he wants me to be sure of my salvation, but I don’t know how to stop this and just go ahead trusting that I am already a daughter of God. But I’m always saying, this is the last time, and then an urge comes to me that I should do it again and I go back and do it. I really don’t know what to do and would like some advice. Thank you and I hope you can help me.
Hi Mila. There is a scripture I would like to recommend to you. It’s from Mark 9. A man wanted Jesus to heal his son. I’ll share verses 21-29 here. 21 And Jesus asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. 22 And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” 23 And Jesus said to him, “‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.” 24 Immediately the father of the child cried out[d] and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!” I love praying prayers straight from God’s word—and this one is a powerful Scripture. I DO BELIEVE. When you state that, you are proclaiming deep in your heart you believe. HELP MY UNBELIEF. You are crying out to the God who made you, knows you through and through. He will help you when you cry out with such an honest prayer. I pray you will find comfort that God is big enough when we struggle—and you will find assurance in His truth.
I do the same thing and I don’t know why. I go to church, read my Bible, and pray. I’ve led others to Christ by giving the Gospel, but I still have these questions and doubts that come up at times. Then I will pray to be saved over and over again even though I know you only have to do it once. I worry Jesus will say He never knew me and I worry that I “didn’t truly mean it.” But every time I ask I know that I DO mean it and believe it. But I have begged and pleaded in tears inviting Christ into my heart, yet I still go through doubt. Sometimes it will last for days nonstop unless I’m praying even.
I know this well as I experience the same. I have resigned that I may always struggle with it so I try to have a plan of action.
When doubts assail I run to Jesus. Pray. Seek His face. You said you lead people to Christ- I have too. Do lost people feel the need to tell others about Jesus? Does the Holy Spirit prod them to tell others that they might be saved. No. Why? because The preaching of the cross is foolishness to them. 1 Cor 1:18.
I know I didn’t tell others so that I may get brownie points and it doesn’t sound like you did either.
1 Corin2:13:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
Reading His word and listening to preaching and the listening to the bible audibly helps.
It dawned on me that if worrying and doubting truly is God telling me I am lost, then asking Him to save me should resolve it. Yes? God isn’t the author of confusion. He doesn’t torment us by dangling an unattainable carrot in front of us.
When we run to Him and give our fears to Him, we are exercising faith… whether we feel like it or not.
Writing down verses He gives me, hymns he leads me to, instances where the Holy Spirit leads, helps me..maybe it will help you too. 🙂 I’ll pray for you. God bless!
About 50 years ago I remember my dad telling we about Jesus and the gospel. I don’t remember anything he said. All I remember was I made a decision in my self to live my life for Jesus and try to do what He wanted me to do. And I thought if I still die and go to hell, I’ve done all I can do. No in the context of being good or earning it, but in the context of I’ve done all I can, it’s up to Him. I wasn’t thinking about Him dying on the cross, I wasn’t even thinking about being a sinner or my sins. I simply made a heart decision to live my life for Jesus and try to do what He wanted me to do. I doubt my salvation and wonder if this could possibly be a genuine born again experience. I tried to get saved again but really it meant nothing. Anyone have an opinion or comment…it would be appreciated.
Hi Allen—Sometimes we tend to complicate our faith so much. I love that you wrote, “I simply made a heart decision to live my life for Jesus and try to do what He wanted me to do.” That is so beautiful. It shows surrender and a very sincere faith—which is what we are called to. I love going back to Romans 10:9 ” because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” God’s word is better advice than I could ever give. Praying peace over you.
am really blessed with this have been doubting my salvation until now that I read this and thanks God for this words was written for me I go church am even a choir in my church have read this verses but never understood what it means to the extent I will be afraid of asking God for something I will be questioned my self am sure God will answer my prayers because of my sin until now. this a very big testimony for me now I believe from now on am entering into a new beginning thanks you Jesus
I’ve been saved most of my life and I’m about to turn 59 in two weeks. I do commit sins at times. They’re minor but sin is sin. I’m not prefect. I’ve had an anxiety disorder for 36 years and for all those years I’ve been praying for it to go away. It’s hasn’t. If you don’t understand the disorder it might sound like I’m making excuses but I’m not. It gives me uncontrollable tics where I burst out saying a cuss word. After writing that I realized I only do it when I’m alone and can be myself. I hold it all in when I’m not home. It is beyond frustrating so of course I cry daily. The crying makes me feel like I’m doomed because I feel I might not going to heaven so I cry even more. I hear all the solutions about how to get prayers answered, how to feel God’s love more deeply or have more faith. I believe these things would work on someone with a normal mind but I feel super scared and stuck. I’m looking for help. I no longer have family, friends or support so if you don’t have something positive to say to me then please don’t say anything. It’s embarrassing enough spilling my soul out. I don’t need to be ridiculed in the process even more than I have. I can’t even leave the house. I leave once a week on a Thursday so I won’t starve and go to Bible study. Lol Christians at church never talk about their lives as if they do anything wrong because they’d like to come off as godly and righteous to everyone. The last time a question was asked there about “have you ever felt”.. I said yes but only me. I was the only one that admitted to not being perfect. That won’t happen again. I can’t go to them with how I feel. I’ve been to other churches my whole life and the more involved you get the more you see. They’re all the same and I don’t feel like starting over again. There are good things about me. I am a true Altruist which means I totally love helping people without expecting anything in return (even if I have to sacrifice). I’m horribly honest so if you don’t want to know don’t ask. I even love doing the man’s work. I’m very intelligent, speak decently and love deeply). These are the main sins that make me feel like I’m horrible. I forget to pray over my food. I am judgemental if that’s what it’s called. Since I was born I heard my parent pick out people’s flaws nonstop so I’ve been conditioned to do it and I try so hard to stop. I can’t stand hearing people that act ghetto. It’s the one thing I can’t handle is anyone not speaking proper English, acting loose or having their whole butt hanging out. To me it comes off as though they’re proud of acting like (can’t say), showing too much in public and are very loud to seek attention. I’m admitting it’s a problem of mine. I’m honest so please don’t be mean. It’s not against one race. It’s not the color but the attitude. I’ve been struggling with this for 60 years. I don’t know how to not feel so strongly about something that bothers me this badly or to not care but it’s my sin. Those are my three main sins. Other than that I’ve always struggled with faith. I see people say they so blindly believe in God but I have ongoing doubts. I wish I didn’t but even with my doubts I still talk to God constantly. I also don’t feel God in me. Boy I sure can’t reveal that at church. Most people would say then I’m not saved but I have a mental disorder and it’s very loud. Now I’m writing this and feel like erasing everything. I already erased two long parts of what I wrote here. I feel like theres gunna be that one mean person to put me down. Now I’m crying. I’m not here to be rude or mean. I’m stating my sins so maybe I can finally get help. Because my anxiety is so horrible my friends and family dumped me years ago. I can’t be honest and tell my church what I desperately need help with. So I’m here hoping to find a second. God says where two or more are gathered and come in agreement. I haven’t been able to find anyone to pray with and for me in years. I want someone to pray for me that I “Cheryl” can get closer to God and stop having OCD which is a horribly debilitating anxiety disorder. Then I can focus better aligning myself with Christ. It took hours to write this. I do see more bad about me after writing. If everyone were honest like me maybe we can see the sins that’re blocking our blessings. Thanks and PLEASE pray for me in the name of Jesus I pray amen.
I am 74 years old and want to know that Jesus loves me and that I a, saved. I went for an alter call and was told at the new life class afterwards I wasn’t a Christian . I mastrubated since I was 12 years old when a book about how to do it was given to me by my mother she believed it was a book on sex education I guess I started on this path since then till I was 65. I said the salvation prayer over again and wanting to believe I was saved and I felt severe pain in my body for most days except it would stop when I worked. I have since had a another horrible experience where the pain stopped suddenly and I thought I was saved and went for a prophetic word where God said you are one of His elect and I was so happy for about one year then I was told God was starting tp punish me because I offended Him and was given a great deception. Since then I have had insomnia no sleep and pain in my body burning on my feet so I can stand being anywhere where it’s hot and my body and I feel empty, I sinned so much in the sexual nature not even seeing how evil my sin was, I want Jesus to save me have I committed the unforgivable sin I never am able to have any assurance of Gos love or salvation I am desperate could someone reach out to me and tell me what is wrong. Please I pray.
There is no unforgivable sin. There is no sin too great for him to forgive. Think about Saul- murderer of Christians in the Bible. Think about David- adulterer and murderer. Moses also killed someone. God redeemed ALL of their stories.
I heard someone say when I was around 14 that “the Devil keeps telling me that I’m lost”. Later on they said, It wasn’t the Devil telling her she was lost,,, it was The Lord. They had “accepted Christ” in their mind. There’s a lot of people that missed going to Heaven by 18 inches. Head, not heart
I’ve been reading all your testimonies and I’ve realized I really am not alone! I’ve struggled with whether or not I’m elect or if god really does love me. And it terrifies me to even think I’m not Jesus’s! I get so anxious and tormented about hell and I cry out to God and Jesus all the time to please help me and save me from my sin and I always think I have to get re-saved and I just ask Jesus just save me and take control. But I always think I didn’t do it right or maybe I didn’t come to jesus for the right reasons. Any advice? It’s like I know I’m saved and God loves me and cares for me and he promises those who take refuge in him are safe! I’m just so confused!
I believe in God I have asked God to come into my heart several times yes I sin everyday and don’t read my Bible like I should. I do believe in Christ believe that he died for us and rose on the third day. I believe he has risen and he is in heaven. I know I have sinned but ask for forgiveness. I’m afraid I will go to hell I don’t won’t to I want to be with Jesus when I die. Please help me pray I struggle with this everyday.
Hey! To all of you who are still struggling like me, I would recommend I’ll be honest.com. It got quite a bit of stuff on there that talks about doubting and repentance and belief in Jesus. You see you got to understand that you can’t do anything or try anything on your own what I mean is you can’t pray a “right way” or say the right words cause that’s works. Paul washer said once. “God accepts men who repent not men who repent perfectly” we just need to look unto jesus and what he has done. Jesus went through it all on the cross for your sin. so you just have to simply cry out “help me, Lord jesus I’m lost! Save me, a sinner!” All that matters is that you are a sinner in need of a savior. God bless you all! Be praying for you!
What a ministry – help others who struggle with doubts. TY for this post.
I don’t recall getting saved (a prayer or how I came to it) when I was 12 yrs old but remember learning what Jesus did for me and getting baptized (not in order to be saved) and being asked if I have trusted Jesus as my personal savior and saying yes. Did I follow what other Sunday School kids did? IDK
I am nearly 60 now and have struggled with doubt for nearly 30 yrs starting when I decided to go soul-winning. I have back slided for years at a time since the age of 13-14 on and off, and did horrible worldly things but feel that the Holy Spirit drew me back to church and to the Lord every time. He got a hold of me.
Doubts are tormenting because how could I do the things I did after I got saved? How can He love me still? Which time did I REALLY mean it?
What helps me during the worst times is:
1) Remind myself that salvation lies in Christ and His work and not in a prayer or other things I must say or do. No works. Jesus isn’t dangling a carrot in front of me saying oops..didn’t ask me the right way….etc.
2) God saved my soul not my flesh. Not an excuse to sin by any means, but a reminder that I am capable of sin at all levels. I can quench the Holy Spirit…If I fall, no matter how horrific, I can get back to him, I can read my bible again…and the Holy Spirit is there to help me. Just a note of caution..be ready to face the gut wrenching guilt when faced with your sin and the fact that you turned away from the Lord. Be on guard at all times..stay in the Word. Listen to preaching often.
3) It is NOT my job to keep myself saved. God keeps me and promises salvation to whosoever and that means me. He CANNOT LIE.
4) LOOK AND LIVE. Just as Moses lifted the serpent in the wilderness and all who LOOKED at it was saved (a picture of Christ), so it is with man. I looked to Jesus for salvation. I only needed to do it once. Great preaching on YT with the same title. Curtis Hutson comes to mind.
5) I’ve started a journal where I write down verses (1John 3:20 and many more), God has given me. Instances where I KNOW the Holy Spirit was proding me and speaking to me.
6) There is no REALLY saved. There is no TRULY saved. Saved is saved. You don’t go into a morgue and ask to be shown the ones who are really dead. Dead is dead. Saved is saved.
7) Know the hymn ‘Turn your eyes upon Jesus?’ And the things of earth will grow strangely dim…
No matter how we ‘try’ to clean up our act… we change when we are fed God’s word and stay around God’s people. It’s spiritual to be sure. Things that seemed so important diminishes…write those down.
1Corin 1:18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
Clearly this is not foolishness to us…it is the most serious because we so desperately want to be with Lord in heaven for all eternity. The merry go round in our heads may stop us from serving the Lord we love and most importantly it may stop us from telling others about Jesus. Don’t give the wicked one an inch. Claim loudly the promises of God. I will do the same.
I hope this helps even one person.
What if someone keeps thinking it’s too late for them to be saved? I keep having this thought and it scares me too death, please please help! My name is Alicia i have my testimony on here under my name. Will you read and respond?
I am now stuck on saving faith. How do I know I have this? How do I know God gave it to me? I have believed and confessed that Jesus is Lord many times but still have doubts about my salvation. I look at my life and dont see any drastic growth? But then i think, how can I grow if i am always doubting?! Im a mess.
Trying to put your faith in any thing other than Jesus Christ and you’re going to doubt. Trying to put faith in a date or an experience or a feeling, you’re going to doubt. I believe sometimes people try to make getting saved a process or formula. Every one who’s saved has a different story with one common thread…Jesus Christ. All the thief hanging on the cross beside Jesus said was, “Lord, remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom” which meant he believed Jesus was the Christ. Zacchaeus said Lord, half my goods I give to the poor, and if I’ve taken anything from any man by false accusation I restore him 4 fold, which showed a true heart of repentance and faith. 1John 5:1 says, whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God.(born again) the Ethiopian eunuch simply said, I believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God.(Acts 8-37) John 20:31 says these things are written that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through His name. It’s one thing to believe with your head like you believe in George Washington or some character in the history books, but when you believe with your heart to the point that it makes a difference in your life that’s a true heart belief. You will still sin you won’t be perfect. As long as we’re in this fleshly body we will sin. I too have lived in seasons of sin but have always been drawn back by the Spirit of Christ living in me…the same Spirit that gives me eternal life when this body quits working. I to doubt at times but it’s not up to me or what I do to get me saved or keep me saved. It’s up to Jesus and what He’s already finished. It’s done. It’s completed. I simply have to take Him at His word and rest on the fact that God cannot lie. 1John 5-12 says he that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. I encourage anyone doubting there salvation to ready the book of 1John. It’s only 5 chapters and deals with believers and knowing you have the Spirit of Christ in you and eternal life through Christ Jesus.
I grew up in church. I have doubted my salvation pretty much off and on my entire adult life. I am 51. It has crippled me almost to the point of giving up on ever being at peace about this. I have almost given up. And there’s no way of me knowing for sure. My doubts are not only about my salvation. I was saved 10 years old when I was saved. Or hope I was anyway. And as an adult, I have wondered if I believe because I believe or do I believe because that is what I was taught as a child, to believe. I also doubt whether I believe is true or not. There are so many beliefs out there and it’s hard to know what is true and what isn’t when everyone has compelling arguments on why they believe what they believe. The Bible even though I know isn’t contradicting itself, seems to. And that is where I struggle. Bc it seems to be the more “ important” ones that seem to contradict each other. Why else would we have some churches that think that baptism is necessary for salvation, while others think you add nothing to salvation. There seems to be verses in the Bible that support both views. Same with once saved always saved or conditional security. Bible verses seem to support both. There are several other issues I can bring up that leave me questioning what I believe and whether it’s right or not. I can’t pray because I can’t focus. The same with reading my Bible. My mind goes constantly from one thing to another. If I start praying I’m thinking about something else within a minute or two. The same with reading my Bible. I can’t read it without my mind drifting to something else. I haven’t been to church in years. Bc I can’t hear very well. My hearing is awful. And of course I don’t know if they teach the right things. So many preachers water down the gospel. I have been to many churches. Searching for one that I can feel the presence of God. And I’ve not found one in years. And I wish I could find one like the one I grew up in. One that sings the old hymns. And listen to a preacher who will feed me the Word of God. Churches like that are very hard to find. Most churches want to entertain us now. The times we are living in don’t help matters much. I listen to a lot of sermons online. And have found a couple of preachers I like to listen to. But I also know I need Christian fellowship. Eternity is too long to be wrong. If anyone can help me please do so. Bc I am miserable. And pretty useless to lead anyone else to Christ if I’m unsure where I stand myself.
13 years ago I asked the Lord to save me. As soon as i said amen my doubts started. Did i really get saved? I went for years wondering, seeking, crying and begging out to God. I’ve talked to preachers, those who have been through this nightmare and anyone who will listen to me. I pray all the time that if I’m lost for him to save me or if I’m saved to show me. It’s always on my mind, seems like it’s all i think about. Back in April of this year it got a lot worse. I didn’t think it could get worse but it did. I became so afraid that i might not be saved that i couldn’t eat. i lost 8 pounds in 2 weeks and pretty sure i lost another 2 pounds the 3rd week. My Co workers could tell something was wrong, i tried not to let it show but it was bothering me so badly that they couldn’t help but to notice. I was waking up in the middle of the night scared out of my mind. I would go to bed trembling from the inside out. Thoughts were raging and racing through my mind. I couldn’t get them to stop. It was hard for me to pray, to read my Bible, seems like doing those things only made it worse. I became so depressed i didn’t want to get out of bed, i didn’t want to do anything but lay around and cry. My thoughts were so scary. I would think what if I’m a reprobate, what if my soul is forever lost, what if there was a time i rejected God, what if God doesn’t help me, what if he leaves me this way, what if he showed me i was lost and i didn’t realize it, do i really realize I’m a sinner (i want to, i want to agree), do i really agree i deserve God’s wrath (and again i want to i do not want to disagree), am i truly believing with my heart or is it just a head belief, did i know for sure i was lost the night i asked God to save me, i didn’t ask God for salvation the first night i waited until the second night, what if he wasn’t dealing with me anymore, and i could keep going probably for days. Sometimes i think i may be going crazy slowly. Will i ever know for sure? Would i Even recognize peace if he gives that to me? Is it too late for me to be saved if i am lost? I know its not him, its me. Its something im doing or not doing. I have fasted, begged and cried out to him time and time again for years and i get nothing. During this time i kept questioning things like being a sinner and deserving eternal hell fire. I would pray and ask God to help me understand. I would tell him i dont want to reject his word, these questions bothered me. Do i really agree, do i really understand, because i want to so badly. I don’t want to be blind to that. I pray and ask God all the time to open my eyes and my heart to his truth. It is now the end of August and I’m not having panic attacks anymore over it. It is still on my mind taunting me. I’m not as scared only every now and then do i become afraid from a thought in my mind. When it’s not really bothering me it is then that i become afraid that i may be getting to the point where i don’t care. So i pray and tell the Lord i don’t want to get to a point of not caring.
It’s hard to know if i have fellowship with him or hear his voice or feel his presence because I’m so distracted from all this doubt. I believe there have been times in my life when i have felt his presence or heard his voice. There have been times i believe that he had showed me something through his word, through singing, through preaching, but then i think was it really him? There have been times i have had a desire to read and go to church and want to talk to him but i haven’t had that in a while. Seems like here lately I’m losing that desire. I have prayed for peace for so long I’m exhausted. There is a part of me that wants to give up and another part of me that is afraid to. I’m just afraid it may be too late for me, i don’t know what else to do! Someone please help!!!
Wow I can definitely understand how you feel! I have had many of those same thoughts & feelings. I just told the Lord yesterday out loud that no matter if I have these feelings or thoughts till I die…I will still follow Jesus! The enemy would love for us to give up. I heard Pastor Tony Evans say, ” even in the doubts keep looking to Jesus”. That’s what all the doubters in the Bible did. I had a thought maybe this is a thorn in my side like the word talks about that keeps me depended & running to Jesus. Does it feel good no, but I can honestly say I have had these doubts off & on for years, but I keep looking to Jesus as the source of my salvation. Don’t give up! Even when we can’t hold on God is holding us.
I didn’t realize so many other people struggle like me. I feel all the time I’m the only one that has these thoughts and scary feelings. Now I’m stuck on the thought that maybe God just gave me one chance to be saved and I didn’t take that chance. I waited until the second night to ask him to save me. I didn’t ask him the first night because my boyfriend who is now my husband was there and I was so afraid and embarrassed to go to altar in front of him. I knew he was going back off to work the next night. I made sure I went back to church and as i promised God I begged him not to let me go to hell. I’m just afraid the first night may have been my only chance and it scares me too death.
Alicia, after Peter denied Christ 3 times, how many times did Jesus ask him if he loved him? Jesus didn’t just give Peter one chance. He gave him 3 chances to declare his repentance and love for Jesus. He loves you just like He loved His beloved disciple, Peter. He knew that Peter needed more than 1 chance and lovingly gave him what he needed. Jesus wants to spend eternity with you and will lovingly give you the chances you need.
Im in the exact same boat Alicia, hence being on here
Alicia, that is exactly what is happening to me. It is crippling, and I don’t know how to overcome it. I think a lot of times well, I asked the Lord to save me so I’m saved and not going to worry about it anymore. Then I get scared and think, but what if I’m not and i think I am and go to hell. It is terrifying and overwhelming to live with these thoughts.
It is terrifying, very much so!!!! I HATE your experiencing this. I haven’t overcome it YET! If you would like to talk my email is Adf28771@gmail.com. email me anytime. It helps to talk with someone else that has the same thoughts and fears. That way you know your not alone ☺
Hi all! Been struggling for a year now….since I got covid, before that I never questioned my salvation, had a horrible psychosis event after not sleeping for 10 days during covid, 2 mental facilities later…meds etc. Finally back to work, reading God’s word, declaring, warring, worshipping, going to church, deliverance sessions, fellowship….but the doubt is still there, even though I felt Holy Spirit has spoken to me several times. I am awaiting the joy of salvation to return, to have emotion and feeling again, to enjoy God in His creation again (I used to be a big hiker), to feel His presence, love, peace, joy again! I’m down to a small amount of medicine now, praise God and sleeping some at night, praise God. I gave my life to Jesus about age 8, but lived life of sin from teen to about age 36, in Spring 2016 the Lord called me out and I began to walk toward Him again and then Aug 2016 I had an encounter with the Lord where Jesus set me completely free, I felt so full of life, full of His love, peace and joy! I’ve been walking it out since, and long to minister to others….just longing to be restored, my faith to be restored etc. Blessings to all!
I like your “don’t overcomplicate salvation.” John Piper does overcomplicate, and I believe he needs help.
Thank you, this really helped me <3
I have known about Christmas through my partner of 3 years ago. at first being into the new age it seemed like hogwash to me but eventually after reading a book on flat earth I began to believe the Bible. whether the earth is flat or not is another question but it helped me find the true source of life. I had a traumatic and isolated childhood with satanic parents and it colored a lot of who I was that even though I tried to fight the evil or find ways to love and find magic differently I was still and still am.under the snare of the devil. I’ve done over 100s of salvation prayers and what stops me from believing I am saved is there’s a part of me that believes I didn’t have enough faith or I was not doing the prayer right. now I fear reprobate mind and I’m more hateful even though the hate started with a demon. I was work’s based for 2 years not really understanding Christ’s work and fell into an online group of Christians who were not good people and were decievers. I was bullied by these people even made to starve myself etc. I had love for creation at one point and innocence and creativity and regularly prayed to God and even though I was only.under Grace God responded when I repented in Jan this year but I spoke to him all night and I thought that was it as I was already saved but I wasn’t. I thought we’d be in loving relationship forever. but it wasn’t to last. he showed me the gospel at 7 in the morning and I became anxious and he withdrew his presence. it broke my.heart for ages and made me.reject Christ for fear of the same situation happening again and letting him down and the nightmarish things that happened after all this. now all I hear is I hate this or that or God and its making me depressed and giving me doublemindedness which is making me.feel like I’m a goat and will never make it. I used to have innocence and conviction but now I’m a desert I feel lost. I don’t know what to do I tried to repent 3 times last night and yet again wasn’t sincere i feel like giving up
apologies i meant Christ in the beginning and it said Christmas
I came across this accidentally trying to find a phrase or a poem (basically that when you give your trouble to God to forgive, but you snatch it back. I will find it.) But God works in Such a mysterious way. He leads you to where you need to be. So maybe that thought, brought me to type in that poem or phrase and it lead me here.
With that said, WOW you sound exactly like me. I must have been baptized 5 times. I went to Christian camp for 2 weeks, cried the entire time thinking I was going to die and burn in hell. It was Agony. So when I read more of what you said I though…”did I fall asleep one night and write my childhood fear” All you said is me. But that is what God does, we are all family. Now I realize that more of us experienced that as kids. I wish we were all together then. How wonderful that would have been.
I am about to cry, going through a HORRIBLE time with a very abusive husband I am leaving. And I prayed to God as I do walking around doing choirs he is my best friend. And the last thing about 5 minutes ago, I asked “God please give me a direction, help me be strong, let me know you hear me. You know I hate asking for help” And bam, that one thought about that phrase or whatever came into my head and he lead me to you.
I feel like a ton of bricks have been lifted and yet we have not talked. But threw Christ we all know each other..
May God and life be wonderful. Strength threw faith is strong. Even when you are alone like I am and in fear, no one to talk to. I talk to my Heavenly Father. And now that I am writing this, I do not feel alone. God bless everyone. Sorry about the long paragraphs. Just a lot hit me all at once. And he is listening.
I found it 🙂 Just want to share it with all of you:
Broken Dreams
As children bring their broken toys
With tears for us to mend.
I brought my broken dreams to God
Because He was my Friend.
But then instead of leaving Him
In peace to work alone,
I hung around and tried to help
With ways that were my own.
At last I snatched the back and cried,
“How could You be so slow”-
“My child,” He said,
“What could I do? You never did let go.”
Man I can not thank you enough for this; I’ve been going through this situation that I know I was saved but the devil keeps getting in my head and trying to tell me I’m not, thank you for this God Bless; Jesus is King
I still have doubts. I’m someone who only came to the faith a little under 2 years ago. Since then I’ve never walked away from the faith but at times I sinned more often than others, felt less assured than other times, etc. There were spans of times where I wasn’t thinking that much about God overall but was still living my life repenting of sins, trying to sin as little as possible, etc. For the past 4 months or so I’ve been thinking about it a lot more and really thinking about whether I’m saved or not every single day. I’ve been trying to learn as much as I possibly can and I feel like the fact that the road that leads to eternal life is narrow is becoming more and more apparent to me. One thing I worry about is whether or not I’m in a subtle way working for salvation. I hadn’t thought about it that way until recently but a question I’ve been thinking about lately is the idea of if my motive behind my works isn’t just solely to serve God and I’m also doing it because I’m wanting to be saved does that make it count as working to be saved and as a result im not saved? This among a handful of other questions run through my mind every day lately it really stresses me out on a daily basis.
Hello all, I’m seeing all these comments and still am in my season of doubt. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God, that God created the universe, that Jesus died on the cross for my sins and the sins of the world, rose from the dead on the third day, that He’s alive and coming back. I know I’m a sinner, and that I need a savior. However there’s a problem. I know I want to be saved, I want to get to the afterlife and hear “well done good and faithful servant” and it’s not that I don’t trust God’s promises. It’s that I don’t trust myself and my own heart. I want to be forgiven, but whenever I pray and ask for forgiveness I feel like I’m being insincere and not meaning what I’m saying. Like I’m “saying it just to say it”. And then, I worry because I desperately want to know I’m going to heaven and that I’ve been forgiven. I don’t want to not be forgiven and I don’t want to deceive myself and allow myself to go through life thinking I’m saved when I might not be. Any advice?
I’ve had this same thing, Maddie. The devil will make you start examining your faith to see if it’s strong enough. But what is faith? It’s a channel to the object. You have to exercise faith to get on a plane, so you have faith there. Are you trusting Jesus alone to save you from sin? Jesus never said to look at your faith, he said look unto me! Don’t put faith in your faith, put it in Christ. This sermon will help you https://youtu.be/MNGRIYNDvMc
Yes I totally understand where you’re coming from. I am constantly doubting my salvation. I think I’m looking more at my sin then I’m looking at Christ.
I grew up in church & I accepted Christ as my savior after a lock-in where youth ministers came to my church & spoke to us about Salvation. I went to church every Sunday – My Godparents were the Pastor & 1st Lady. When I graduated College, I stayed in college town because of work but my godparents didn’t support me not moving back home with my mom. In 2018, I came back home because my sister got married. I want to stop here & say my Dad was the musician at the church & brought my mother there when she was pregnant. They got married after my sister was born. When I turned 16, my mother went to my Godparents & told them she was divorcing my dad. At that point, my sister had gone away to college so once the divorce was finalized, my dad abandoned me. He also quit his job at the church as my mom would often direct the choir now. My dad played for different churches but he never came to the house to see me & never called me. He came to my HS graduation & my college graduation but for the most part he’s absent from my life. He is devastated by the marriage & when he does speak to me, says things like I have no family. On the other hand, my mom, sister, & brother-in-law have formed a clique where they have caste me & my dad out & said since we don’t attend their church anymore, we don’t have the fruit of the spirit & Christ gives believers discernment to judge the salvation of others. My Godfather even sent me a text saying that honor your parents includes honor your Godparents. But, my Godfather didn’t attend my college graduation and my Dad always points out, my Godparents never had children of their own.
Now, when I moved back from college town to be with my family, my sister confides in me that she doesn’t believe my Dad is saved because he signed the divorce papers. I was shocked as I knew my mother spoke with my Godparents before she filed for divorce & I lived with her while she had her 40, fabulous, & free bday party. However, I was never in the business of saying whether someone accepted Christ or not. The Bible says we are saved by grace, not by works, so that no man can boast. This is a major point of contention with the clique. They believe if you don’t obey whatever they say, you’re disobedient to God. They also say, you can tell a good tree by it’s fruit. So I am also going to hell because I don’t attend their church. I think my Godfather is upset that I accepted Christ on someone else’s sermon & not his. His insistence that “we work because we are saved” makes no sense to me because – that’s not a Bible verse. The Bible says first comes death, then comes the judgement. Of course we have discernment however, I do not believe that entitles us to say someone who has made a profession of faith & been baptized is going to hell. It’s been really tough because I was diagnosed with anxiety disorder & they said that was a sign I was going to hell & said “fear” is not a fruit of the spirit. To make matters worse, my god-sister had a tumor on her brain but, no one said this was a sign she was going to hell. She lost her battle with cancer in 3 months & they had her funeral on my birthday. My Godfather did not acknowledge I turned 30, my mom sent me an edible arrangement & that was it. When my sister turned 30, we went to Foxwoods Casino so she could play Bingo, we also went to a steakhouse on another night. & I also bought her a gift. She didn’t do anything for me. Because why bother if I’m going to hell.
I don’t believe Christ wants believers to be self righteous. The Bible says love keeps no record of wrong but my Godparents say Love has a correction part to it & I can either accept what they say as my spiritual leaders or reject it. I was raised that Salvation is a free gift. I accepted Christ because even as a child I’ve just had so much hate and anger inside me. I’m dark skinned, unattractive, & was always getting picked on. The idea that Christ loves me and wants me to be with him for eternity is music to my ears. Now they tell me well no you’re not saved because WE don’t see any fruit of the spirit. I tried to have a sit down conversation & they cancelled on me. I never would have left college town if I knew my family became the judges of salvation. When I accepted Christ he as knocking at the door of my heart to come in. I couldnt stay in my seat! I had to go down to the alter & confess I believe in my heart that Chrst died for my sins & rose from the dead. I believe he’s seated at the right hand of God. I believe the Holy Spirit lives in me. But it’s so scary & confusing when the church is telling you you’re going to hell when before they told me Christ is looking to come into my heart & into my life. I get suicidal thoughts because I feel like I’m abandoned by my family so I might as well be with the Lord now. But HE has a purpose & a plan for my life so I’m still here. Crying every day. Trying to be consistent with devotions. Trying to pray & ask God to tell me if I’m saved or not & to show me what my purpose is. I can’t stop crying. I just want to die.
I’m praying you can find a supportive church to help you through all of this. God bless you!
During a lot of this article I was wondering if I went into a coma and wrote this myself??? Because so many of these describe my struggles spot-on. I was 8 years old when I first started realizing and asked the Lord to forgive my sins and come into my heart and I was happy and wanting to live for him for a while, but then I wandered away, didn’t really listen much to spiritual things, wasn’t in church… until I was 17, then I started going to church more and getting closer to the Lord. Well, last year I was plagued with doubts and it was about numerous things – for one, how could anyone saved sin as much as I did during those teenage years… then, I’d hear people talk about making false professions of faith as a child and realizing it later, I’d hear people talk about repentance aside from faith, and got confused… how do I know I wasn’t a false professing Christian then, and how do I know I really repented enough? It was confusing. Then I got delivered from them for a while… only to later start hearing calvinist preachers talk about how justification and sanctification must all happen at once and you must have God always first in life without exception or you’re not saved. I tell ya, it threw me into a corner. I didn’t know what to do. I found myself praying and asking Jesus to save me a hundred times a day and none of them changed a thing. I’d talk to my pastor… both parents… and have peace for a day but the doubts would come back. I couldnt tell if i was lost and the holy spirit convicting me, or i was saved and the devil was tormenting me… And the reason for them kept changing, and thoughts even came to my head that I should just leave the faith. Okay, that right there told me it was of the devil, God would never make me think that way.
I’m finally realizing, though still struggling from time to time… salvation is not as complicated as man makes it and as my analytical mind makes it, the Bible makes it incredibly simple. Repentance and faith are two sides of the same coin and they’re inseparable – like turning on the light to get rid of the darkness, you don’t have to first get rid of the darkness, it leaves when the light enters. Then you may start flickering later (sinning) or even have the power go out (fall into sin) but you still have the light. That’s why some won’t get saved, they “enjoy darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil” and that prevents them from even believing.
This is something that causes a lot of doubts. Calvinism will cause torment, hell on earth in your mind, and when you don’t understand how repentance and faith go together, you’ll be left trying to figure out if you actually repented or not and it will also cause torment. I was also stuck about whether I really knew what I was doing at 8 years old and how any Christian could sin as much as I did in teen years, but now I’m anchoring to the promises of the Word, and it’s delivering me. God bless!
Your story sounds just like mine. The devil is a liar and he knows his time is short and if he can’t have your soul he will settle for making you miserable on earth so that you have no joy and are unable to accomplish anything for the Savior. I appreciate your testimony and I too I’m going to trust in what the Bible says about salvation instead of what the devil tries to put in my mind. I have confessed to the Lord that I’m a sinner in need of his Salvation and that I cannot save myself. I have asked him to save me and according to his word he has saved me because I have placed my faith in and what he did for me on that cross.
I love the way you worded that!!! I also got a little more assurance from thinking back to when Samuel was called by God as a little boy in the temple and ran to Eli 3 times.. he probably didn’t fully know what he was doing, but when Eli told him what to say, he did, even though he likely didn’t understand.
In the same way, I didn’t fully understand what I was doing back then but I was convicted and when I asked what I had to do, my parents told me and I went straight to do it. Child-like faith.
Anyone still here, I’d like you to listen to this : https://youtu.be/MNGRIYNDvMc
David. Thank you for this. This was so helpful in my discovering the truth. I cannot recommend this sermon more to those who doubt or need salvation.
Can God save the ungodly?
Jesus came so ALL could be saved!
Well consider the fact that we are all ungodly! No one is born perfect.
as it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, There is none that seeketh after God.
Romans 3:10-11 KJV
I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
Luke 5:32 KJV
This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.
1 Timothy 1:15 KJV
Jesus entered my heart when I was 3. But when I was 11, I fell victim to misunderstanding related to bad teaching. Our Sunday School teachers told us that to “lust after” anything means to “think about” that thing. They also taught us that our thoughts would be judged, that if we thought about hitting our brother, for instance, this was the same in the eyes of God as doing it. I avoided reading newspaper articles about drugs, drinking, and crime because I didn’t want to think about them and be as guilty of them in the eyes of God as if I had actually done them. I was also taught that fornication meant kissing someone who wasn’t married, and adultery meant kissing someone who was married, but it didn’t apply to your close relatives, you parents and grandparents and aunts and uncles could kiss you and it wasn’t a sin, it only applied to people who weren’t your close relatives. I read in the Bible that blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is the only unforgiveable sin. I didn’t know the word blasphemy and I was determined to understand the word so that I wouldn’t do it. When I came to understand the word, I realized that I was thinking about blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, and that was the same in the eyes of God as doing it. And do you want to know that I was molested by two close family members for a total of seven years and it was profoundly confusing because one was married and they both did whole lot more than kiss me that was very frightening and felt very wrong but it wasn’t wrong for a close family member to kiss me? There was never intercourse, but in my heart, I accused myself of fornication and adultery because it felt so wrong. In my early 20’s, Deloris Gruen was teaching a young women’s Bible study and told us that fornication and adultery meant actually having sex (some other young women present were also confused about this). I believed I was guilty of blasphemy of the Holy Spirit and had thrown away my salvation for 19 years, and then one day Pat Robertson on 700 Club looked directly into the camera and said, “The only unforgiveable sin is blasphemy of the holy spirit, and that CAN’T BE DONE BY ACCIDENT” (emphasis his). I felt profoundly weak as I realized that whatever I had done by coming to understand what blasphemy of the Holy Spirit was, I hadn’t committed it.
I want to say it’s unfair to teach children using euphamisms that don’t mean what they say and are intended to muddy what is actually meant.
Happened across this article. Interesting. At the end of articles like this I always read the John 3:16’s and the Romans 10:9 but the one that actually says ” gospel” is always missing. 1st Corinthians 15:1-4. Also, is repentance an admission or an action? If a person is an alcoholic is repenting of it stopping? Or acknowledging it as a sin and letting God remove it? It sort of becomes a works based theology if it’s the first? Paul didn’t say anything about repentance to the jailor in Acts 16 ? If I recall, the only time Paul uses the word is when he says something to the affect of “wish all would come to the repentance”. It was only Peter that commonly used the term when speaking of salvific matters. Always along with baptism and believing in the “name”, whereas Paul always said “believing in death, burial and resurrection”. Also curious about babies. Many theologians think they go to heaven if they die. Davids child, Job, Jeremiah etc. Seem to assume this. But they are born with a sin nature? Jesus says (mathematically) that more will go to hell than heaven. This, logically, would encourage abortion. I know that’s a terrible thought but if a baby grows into adulthood they have a 51% chance of going to hell versus a 100% chance of going to heaven if they die as infants? Just looking for commentary. I’m saved since 74 so it’s not an issue causing problems. God bless you!
Around 7 years old, I heard about Jesus and I heard about the Garden of Eden. I desired what the Creator gave us in the Garden of Eden. I would read His Word all the time with excitement. I believed and still do every time I read it. It’s His voice I hear when I read. I was baptized when I was around 17. It took so many Sundays of listening to the Pastor and I would stand at the pew with my eyes closed and my head bowed in prayer asking for whatever He had for me. One Sunday, I heard something that said if I move my first foot, the others would move. I was baptized that night. I was attacked at an earlier age and was shown sexual immorality by a cousin. My brother suffered the same attack but it was me that let it grow. I still have it, at almost 56, but I wonder every day about my salvation. The verses you quoted above have and do bring me peace when I read them and I will definitely commit them to my heart. Thank you!!! I have never felt closer to Jesus than at this moment. This realization hasn’t left me since He showed up in 2018.
I struggled for 10 years, doubting my salvation. When I first realized I wasn’t saved I was counseled a few times before I finally understood and “got it”. I knew I was saved. But when I was supposed to get baptized the doubts came flooding in. I talked with at least a dozen people over the years. But mostly hours with my pastor. I just kept feeling I was doing something wrong, that I wasn’t believing right or there was some unconfessed sin I wasn’t aware of that was holding me back. 10 years. After the first several years I started to feel I was crazy. All the voices of those who had counseled me swirling inside my head. I finally gave up searching and talking to anyone. After about 2 years. I prayed again. God, please don’t let me go. Please help me get this settled. That Sunday I went to a different church as they were having an evangelist. I went and prayed again asking God to finally save me and give me a sign.
I went forward after the service. He tried to talk to me a few minutes but wasn’t getting thru. Then the pastor of the church ( a friend of our family) asked if he could come talk to me later in the week. I agreed. We both prayed for the Lord to work and answer my prayer. The pastor asked for wisdom and help to help me.
When he came over that night, he took me to 2 Peter 1:3-10. He had me read it aloud . When I got to verse 9 I began to weep. Here it was . I was saved! I just got so hung up I wasn’t adding to my faith. God moved my heart and mind and showed me I was saved. After the pastor left, I began to panic a little thinking “oh no. I hope this isn’t false hope again.”
God immediately said to me “what’s false about me?” Such peace just came over me!! I rested I that God gave me His assurance I was saved. Praise the Lord!! My hope is Jesus!
I worry an out somoking if I’ve gone to far.Am I beyond salvation I still curse sometimes but I used to curse that every word was foul I desire to do better and quit smoking but it’s hard I’ve tried several times and failed. I feel I’m failing all the way around. What can I do to know I’m still saved even as a smoker. When I got the Holy Spirit I was smoking and 11 years later still smoking. Help me please I need answers
Nobody is beyond salvation! If you asked the Holy Spirit into your heart, you are saved. You may need some help from an outside source like a Christian therapist, doctor, etc. to help with quitting smoking. It isn’t easy and there’s no shame in getting professional help! God bless you.
Can God save someone convicted of treason by the government? Can they be forgiven and go to heaven?
God is higher than the government and there is no unforgiveable sin.
Yes God sat with murders and thieves. He forgives all sin if you call upon him and recognize him as the way the truth and the light into heaven. We all sin and no sin is greater than the other. The blood of Jesus washes them away and makes us clean.
Yes ask God to forgive you of your sins and to be Lord of your life. He sat with murders and thieves. He will be there with you too as you move forward and let go of your past.
i have grown so much closer to God over the past year, and it’s hard to believe that i had to look through articles to realize that He is working in my life. God is so good!
To everyone here still looking for answers I have good news. It is Jesus! I was like many of you, I came here looking for help and Praise God I found it. This site has been mentioned in the comments below before but I am going to share it again. knowimsaved.com! Go there and listen. Pastor Fulton presents the Gospel in a way that is so clear and deals with almost every doubt and issue of assurance you can imagine. The entire site is a ministry to help those with doubts and who struggle with assurance. For all those searching. The answer is Jesus! Not a prayer, not an alter call, not your works, and definitely not your fruit. It is faith, faith that what Jesus did for you 2000 years ago is what saves you. Not anything we can or will ever do. Jesus said “It is finished” All that you have to do is Believe! Trust your souls eternity to Jesus. May everyone here find that rest in Jesus you are searching for. Much love to all of you.
Thank you so much for this article, I appreciate it much! I accepted Christ into my heart when I was 19, went about a year rock solid, then went through a long period of time in my life where my behavior was nothing like a Christian. Maybe that was a seed that landed on rock or thorn, I may not know until the end for sure. Finally, the Lord reached me after the mess I left behind and hit me with great conviction. I again asked Him to save me, this time willing to fully surrender my life to Him. After that, I went through a period of major change, painful but all good. I know I’m saved now, but I am still reminded of my past through lies, though less frequently. I would say to others, if you question your salvation, that is a good sign you are likely saved. All paths/answers/solutions are found a the cross. May bible study, fellowship, and prayer a daily routine – it will change you!
This is how to stop doubting,
Be consistent in spending time with the Lord in His word, even if you aren’t “feeling” it.
Pray. not only in asking for help, but also acknowledging Jesus for who he is and what he’s done. Almost like claiming his promises over you regardless how you feel.
Continue to be in the body of Christ. Go to church, fellowship, and try to fellowship and or do bible studies outside of just a Sunday morning. We should gather as much as we can for encouragement and upbuilding.
Be thankful. Start to thank the Lord for little things.
Like thank him for his mercies that are new every morning.
When you have bad thoughts, uncomfortable uncontrollable thoughts, just keep doing the above every day and it will decrease.
Take thoughts captive as much as you can and don’t blame yourself for having them, rather try to not even give them attention. And keep going after the Lord.
May God give us strength, and peace and joy in the truth and victory we have in Christ Jesus!
Remember the joy of the Lord is our strength. (Nehemiah 8:10)
A good bible scripture is psalm 77.
Starts off about the writer being depressed, but then he turned to remember the goodness of the Lord and his attitude changes.
God never changes, only us sometimes but that’s why we need to keep our eyes on him.
Laser focus on Jesus!
Remember, we are seated in heavenly places with Jesus.(Ephesians 2:6) So start looking at life from that perspective! We are MORE than victorious in CHRIST. Period.
Our strength is in remembering, and our power is in returning. Remember that.
God bless!
I struggle with this and reading the Bible doesn’t come natural for me. I pray & talk to Jesus throughout the day but I feel Him pushing me to do more. I’ve asked Jesus to be my Lord and invited the Holy Spirit into my heart. I feel Him speaking to me in times where I should Act and serve him. That part does come natural. I overall learn easier by listening and doing. I can name a handful of times where I had demonic attacks on me but it wasn’t able to touch me it came to me in a dream and said it didn’t want me it wanted me out. (In my marriage to a man who wasn’t walking with me in my Christian faith) I felt the negative energy along with a growl coming up behind me up the stairs one morning. I felt a larger power stand in its way protecting me. I know this was an angel sent by God. I know I have a deep passion for giving my experiences as testimony to what God can do even for someone like me who still has a lot of growing to do. I still have doubts if I am truly saved or if that was a trick of the devil and I have a false sense of security. I check myself every time this thought pops in but it is a constant worry. We will never be enough without Jesus. I have a passion for people and a love I didn’t have growing up after acknowledging God’s existence. Thank you for this post it gives me ways to start digging back in to the Bible and I’m hopeful it’ll give me the same peace as you. I fear for what’s coming next especially for family and friends who have no faith or understanding of the battles going on around us.
Hello everyone. I too had doubts about my salvation, and I did say the lord’s prayer constantly when I felt quilty we I sinned against God . But when I truly found out about what God’s grace was it change me from the doubts. Read Roman’s 5: 17-20 I cling to this when satan attacks you with doubt.
Here is my testimony: I was 12 years old, it was during a “vacation bible school” service (that’s a little thing we used to have during the summer where some of the sunday school teachers would come up with lessons and crafts and bible themed games for the kids) anyway, the day prior to my salvation my two cousins had gotten saved and I could feel the Holy Spirit drawing me to be saved on that day but instead of submitting to the call I ran and hid from it out in my parent’s car. The next day of VBS before me and all the other kids went down stairs for classes our pastor began preaching and I could feel the Holy Spirit calling me stronger than he had the day prior, I remember standing in that pew debating within myself about going up to the altar to pray, that’s when one of the women that I had attended Church with my whole life came over to me and she asked me “do you need to be saved” I paused for a second and I knew that I was still being called by the spirit, I remember turning to her and simply saying “yes”, I went up to the altar, I prayed: “Jesus save me, Jesus please save me” and after I prayed I didn’t feel convicted anymore I felt at peace.
I got saved when I was 12, I’m 25 now and doubts have been attacking me for years, I feel like I have to keep replaying the moments leading up to my salvation over and over again searching for a reason why the Lord may not have actually saved me regardless of the promises that the bible gives to those who call on his name, I pray that the Lord strengthens my faith so that my joy may be full.
Precious friends, I just came across this article in an attempt to help a friend who is agonizing over this issue of salvation for her own soul. I believe that so many of us have inadvertently opened doors to demonic influence or opppression in our lives. And not even necessarily so. Satan is a killer and destroyer whether invited or not.
We can get him off of our backs as we confirm the truths of the gospel daily. But sometimes a more aggressive approach is needed in order to be free of the apparent “wall” that we sense when we approach the things of God. Please consider 2 books written by Neil T. Anderson. One is Victory over Darkness and the other; The Bondage Breaker. They should be read together and in that order. I have worked through them myself and it is freeing. It allows you to take inventory of things that have happened in the past, whether it be occultic connections of all kinds, personal sin, trauma, and/or deception, etc.
Chapter 13 takes you through what he calls Steps to Freedom in Christ.” This is where the rubber meets the road. I challenge you to stay in God’s Word first and foremeost and read these books and do the exercises in the Bondage Breaker. You will not regret it!!!!!! God is faithful!!!!!!!! Jesus is our freedom! …” John 8:31b,32
Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
Happy freedom friends!
I don’t know I’d anyone will read this as this was written years ago.
But I have a few questions first I’m pretty sure I trusted Christ alone for salvation and repented of sin. However very soon after I fell back into an old sin and it was like a knife going in my heart. I battled and battled for years and then about 3 years ago I gave up and said I’m never overcoming this and stopped trying.
So I fully backslid but deep down I still wanted God and Jesus so anyway about 2 weeks ago I watched a video about a man called Bill Weis who went to he’ll for 23 minutes and I think God used it to give me a real kick up the behind.
So for the past 2 weeks I’ve been really seeking God and getting godly council I repented of the sin I was battling again and I’m more serious now than ever.
My doubts still continue though such as did I really believe in Christ or is it just head belief not heart belief
Why can I not sense God’s presence or hear His voice even though I desire that close relationship with Jesus
I’m worried about performing religious works as opposed to obedience and works of faith.
I would appreciate a yokes advice/help because I don’t know if I need to be saved still or if I just need to grow and battle sin and the enemy
Thanks in advance
Mike