How can i know i'm saved?
What does salvation mean?
What does it mean...savation? From what? Lot's of things in life are scary, from threats, to fear of failure, to imagined fears that can terrorize our minds. Some people act tough to stand up against these feears, others cower. Some train in physical combat to come agaimst these fears. But there is one thing we should truly fear in this life. Death without making peace with God.
Jesus came from heaven to Earth as a man, the Son of Man, to restore us and 'save'us from eternal separation from our God. Every person since Adam's fall in the garden, the original sin, is born separated from God spiritually. We could say that our spirits are 'dead'...lacking the life and presence of God. Mankind, as a race, lostour position of the 'image and likelness of God.'
So how do we get fixed? How do we receive God's forgiveness and make peace with Him? The answer is found in Romans 10, where we are told that 'everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." What does that mean?
Simply put, you must call on his name. We believe that He is the Messiah who was raised from the dead, and we confess that He is our Lord. (Ro 10:8-13).You can do that right now...just pray something like,
"Jesus, I believe you are the Son of God and you died for me on the cross and were raised from the dead on the third day. I have sinned agains you, but today I confess you as my Lord and Savior, and thank you for cleansing me of all my sins. My life is yours. Amen."
If you prayed this, congratulations! Welcome to the family of God. You should now sense His peace inside you and have the witness (confirmation) of the Holy Spirit inside you that you are a son or daughter of God.Time to celebrate! Go ahead and cry, dance, run around, tell someone...there's NOTHING like the peace we receive when we are born again.
From now on, as a Christian, your life will be different. You can walk in a godly love you never had before. It's awesome!
Now that you're saved, it's good to understand what happened. or maybe you're not quite sure yet. We invite you to complete the following study that compares life before and after Christ. Answers are at the end of the study, in red.
Life Without Christ
- What was our condition before Christ gave us eternal life?
- According to Ephesians 2:1 _____________________________________________________________________________
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2. According to Ephesians 5:8 _____________________________________________________________________________
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- According to Romans 3:23, has everyone sinned? Yes No
Therefore, in what condition were we prior to Christ saving us? _________________________________________________
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- According to John 3:18, the Bible says we were condemned, why? ____________________________________________
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Saved by Grace
GRACE: Grace means “undeserved gift”. It also means “God’s power available to us so that His purpose is fulfilled in our lives”.
Grace operates in our lives because of our relationship with God as His children. God offers salvation “for free” (in other words, at no cost to us) although we did not deserve it. He does the same with His grace!
- How is God described?
- According to 1 John 4:8 _____________________________________________________________________________
- According to Ephesians 2:4-5 (v. 4)____________________________________________________________________
- What has God done for us? (v. 5)______________________________________________________________________
- According to Romans 5:8, in what way does God show us His love? _________________________________________
- According to Ephesians 2:8-9, God decided that we will NOT be saved by our WORKS. How then is SALVATION available to us? ____________________________________________________________________________________
We are SAVED by ______________ through ______________ (v. 8)
- According to Galatians 3:26, who do we need to have faith in to be children of God? ______________________________
New life in Christ
- According to John 10:10, what was Christ’s purpose on coming to Earth? _______________________________________
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- According to John 1:12, what does God offer to those who accept Jesus as Savior and Lord?_______________________
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- According to John 5:24, what happens to those who accept Jesus as Savior and Lord?____________________________
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- According to Ephesians 2:10, for what purpose are we “created in Christ Jesus”?_________________________________
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REMEMBER: We are not saved BY works, but we are saved so that we DO good works!
- According to 2 Corinthians 5:17, being in Christ means that you are united to Him and Him to you. Therefore, when someone is in Christ, in what does he/she become?
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- Explain in your own words the phrase “old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”
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Summary
Summarize today’s topic in your own words.
- How was your life without Christ? _______________________________________________________________________
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- What did Christ do for you? ____________________________________________________________________________
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- How should your daily life reflect the new life God has given you? ____________________________________________
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Follow up activities
The purpose of these activities is to help you grow in the knowledge of your Savior and this topic.
- Memorize, in sequence, the name of the first five books of the New Testament: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and Acts.
- Read Luke chapters 1 to 7, one chapter per day.
- Memorize 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.”
CONTACT US
SERVICE SCHEDULE
Sunday Service 10:30 AM
Life Groups (in Homes) 7:30 PM
CONTACT INFORMATION
Address 1872 18th Street, Sarasota, FL 34234
Telephone (941) 355-4618