Reason #8: They have not fully reckoned on why Jesus died on the cross in the first place.

Sometimes, the reason why we doubt our salvation is simply weak theology. We have not developed a mature personal understanding of why Jesus died on the cross. In Romans 4:25, the Apostle Paul tells us Jesus “was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification.” In Romans 5:8 he wrote, But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. In Matthew 9:13 Jesus said, “I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”

The truth of the matter is Jesus came for the very purpose of providing the only way for our salvation. In John 10:10 Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” . The fact is we need to personally embrace the truth that He came for this purpose. In John 14:6 Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” Since He is the way, the truth, and the life, He is the only way of entering into an eternal relationship with God here and now and entering heaven when this life is over. To consider the depth of this truth is powerful in our quest for assurance of salvation.

Reason #7: They question the credibility of the person who led them to Christ or the person who baptized them.

During a previous pastorate, in another state, some close friends attended another church in town. The family included a daughter in her early twenties. A time came in the life of this young lady when she realized a walk up the aisle at an earlier time in her life was not a real salvation experience. At an invitation time, she went forward in that church. The pastor of the church counseled her. She gave her life to Christ. Several days later, the pastor baptized her.

Things were going just fine until the pastor of the church was exposed for living a double life. The previously unknown side of his life consisted of years of serious moral failures, the details of which we will leave unspoken. His moral failures cost him his life a few years later.

The mother of the young lady called me and asked if I would counsel her daughter because the daughter doubted her salvation. My wife and I went over to the house and talked with them. You can probably guess the problem. The young lady questioned the validity of her salvation because of the credibility of the person who introduced her to Christ and later baptized her. I am glad to report the counseling session was successful.

We need to remember people do not save us. The pastor did not save her. God saves based on the finished work of Christ on the cross and the power of the resurrection. The moral failure of the pastor did not change her salvation. Even though it is devastating for a man of God to fall spiritually, that situation did not change her salvation.  Our salvation is by the grace of God and His declaration about us.

As we stated earlier, salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. Let us also remember what Jesus said in John 10:28-29. “And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.”  Read those verses again and see how they apply in this very real situation and others we may experience.

Reason #6. They commit a glaring sin

We doubt our salvation when sin creeps into our life or when we choose to do wrong over what we know to be right. Here is the logical progression of this thought:

• “I did this (whatever the sin is).”
• “A real Christian would not do this.”
• “Evidently I am not a Christian.”

Although we should not sin and should not get comfortable sinning, all of us still sin after salvation. James 3:2 says, “For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body”. 1 John 1:8 & 10 says, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us”.

Think of it this way.   If “not sinning” kept us saved and “sinning” caused us to lose our salvation then what is the logical conclusion? Salvation would be a work of our own and our salvation would be short lived.

Another problem related to this line of thinking is, we begin to catalogue sins. We develop mental lists of acceptable sins and unacceptable sins; a list of constructive sins and destructive sins.

When you really think about it, constructive sins [an oxymoron] would be a sin we have determined is a sin but the end justifies the means and we have put it in a separate list. It is true that some sins are worse than others (Matthew 7:1-5; John 19:11), but as far as God is concerned for whatever is not from faith is sin. (Romams 14:23)

R. T. Kendall says, “All of us have one single greatest fear. Something that we have done that we would not want anyone to know. But God knows it and loves us anyway. Whether it happened before you were saved or after, He knew it and He saved you anyway.”

Once again, let us affirm our salvation is by God’s grace and is secure in Jesus Christ. “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.”

Reason #5: They reject the doctrine of salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.

If a person adds any personal effort or work to salvation whereby they are assisting God in the process, they are rejecting the truth of salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone. Any works plan of salvation will never produce genuine assurance.

How can we know a person is relying on his or her own efforts rather than the grace of God for salvation? We discern this in the responses they give to certain questions. Questions like:

• “Are you saved?”
• “Are you going to heaven when you die?”

When we ask questions like these, we may get one of several responses. Let us consider some responses and see if we can understand what the person is really saying.

Response: “I am doing the best I can.” This person is saying he is in the process, so he thinks, of earning his salvation.” Notice “I” am doing the best “I” can.

Response: “I won’t know or no one can know until they die.” This person has what we call “Saint Peter at the gate” theology.  This line of thinking comes from hearing too many Saint Peter at the Gate jokes. They have the idea that when we die, God is going to weigh our good deeds against our bad deeds and based on the comparison God is going to make a decision. This person is betting on his own good works to out-weigh his bad works.

Response: “I hope so, I think so, I am as good as other people.” All three of these responses indicate that he is attempting to earn God’s approval because he is, relatively speaking, a good person.

As Spirit-controlled believers, we know the best we can do will never measure-up because Jesus did it all on the cross. We know the Word of God says salvation is acquired here and now. It is not decided based on some sort of merit system in heaven.  We know that our salvation is not based on our being better than other people are because “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Genuine salvation is based on grace alone through faith alone in the finished work of Christ alone.