The Mistake of Believers Who Doubt Salvation

“If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is in vain, and our faith is in vain. And if in this life only we hope in Christ, then we are the most miserable of all people.” (1 Corinthians 15:13,14,19).

For Christians, the word “believer” means that this person believes in the existence of God - the Holy Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, that the Son of God Jesus Christ was on earth in a human body and sacrificed Himself on the cross for the sins of people, redeeming them from sinful slavery. And this also means that this man accepted the Son of God as his Savior and loved Him. And that love for God, love for Jesus Christ is the most important thing in order to be with Him in eternity. True love does not exist without faith and is always accompanied by true repentance of the believer before God for his sins.

The entire New Testament in the Bible tells people about God's love for them and the expectation of people's love for God in return. At the same time, God promises people eternal life. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16) It is no longer through the prophets, but God personally, through His Son, establishes for people His last words to them - the last Testament. There will be no more prophets for Israel and for all people on Earth, as they were according to the Old Testament, since after God visits people, His words are final. And the Lord Himself pronounces them to us: “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has eternal life and does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life” (John 5:24).

But are all people who call themselves believers really such? We cannot know the truth of faith in other people. Just guess. Yes, this is not given to us. Only God and each person knows about himself personally. Only man himself knows his own heart: whether it belongs to God. All the people who say they are believers, not all of them are. And some of them, as well as some ministers of various Christian churches, practice their faith formally. Therefore, whether this or that person has eternal life or not, only God and, of course, the person himself knows, but only about himself. Only a person knows about himself whether he satisfies the definition of the word “believer” given above. And if this is so, then there is 100% certainty that he has eternal life. And this is the great happiness of every true believer - to be together with God in eternity.

However, some people worry that believers might fall away during their lives, meaning that they were believers at one time, but later ceased to be so. Is this possible? The Apostle Paul, in his epistle to the Christians, explains the great doctrines of grace, and also addresses this question: "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:38-39)

Here, the Apostle Paul assures Christians that "neither the present nor the future," that is, nothing can separate true believers from God. The Lord tells us: "Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live." (John 11:25) True believers differ from other people in that God—the Holy Spirit—dwells in their hearts forever, helping believers to avoid doing things displeasing to God. And the Apostle Paul speaks of this to Christians in this way: "For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose." (Philippians 2:13)

Believers do not become sinless people, people who do not commit sin. But they become people for whom sin becomes contrary to their life with God, and if they commit any sin, they do so unintentionally. Christians always consult with God in their prayers about the problems of their lives and always bitterly condemn themselves in their repentance before Him if they have done something displeasing to God. For Christians, God is not a Judge, but a loving Father and the best Friend in their lives. Every person, upon becoming a true believer, separates themselves from much of the evil that exists in our human society. This process of separation is called sanctification in Greek. The sanctification of people and objects is their separation for God. And in his address to Christians, calling them sanctified, the Apostle Paul speaks of their future after the Lord offered Himself as a sacrifice for the sins of mankind: "For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy." (Hebrews 10:14)

And if previously the Jews in Israel offered sacrifices for sins repeatedly to cleanse themselves from sin, after Golgotha ;;all Christians of all nationalities are freed from this. Here the word "forever" is used, which speaks to us of eternal dwelling with God. Having received salvation through faith, repentance, and love for God, believers should not worry that they might lose salvation and eternal life. God will not allow this for His children. God SENDS God's angels to: "serve those who will inherit salvation" (Hebrews 1:14).