I suspect that most people understand or know that the Bible talks about salvation or being saved. Is there any way to know for sure?
“How Do I Know That I Am Saved?”
Well, the first and very simple answer to this question comes from the Book of Romans.
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. [ESV]
So, based on this verse, the very clear way to know that you are saved is to ask yourself:
Have I confessed that Jesus is lord with my mouth?
Do I believe in my heart that God has raised him from the dead?
If you answer “yes” to both of those questions, then according to the very Scriptures that told you how to get saved, you are certainly saved. You see, we are not dealing here with just some ordinary book authored by a human author. To the contrary, we are speaking about the words that have been authored by God – words that were then written down by people as they were instructed by God to write them. Behind the words written in the Bible is the authority of God himself. If the word of God says it, it is true because God backs up his Word.
Psalm 138:2
I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name. [KJV]
God thinks so much of his Word that he has even magnified it above his name. He stands behind his Word; he backs his Word with all the power and authority that God has. So if the Word says it, it is true.
As far as salvation is concerned, then, if you have confessed Jesus as lord and believed in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you are definitely saved because the Scriptures say so. In all of God’s mercy, however, he has given us even more proof in his Word. Note this verse from I Corinthians 12.
I Corinthians 12:3
Wherefore, I give you to know that no one speaking by the spirit of God says “Jesus is accursed,” and no one can say “Jesus is lord” except by holy spirit. [WTJ]
In the context of this section of Corinthians, “speaking by the spirit” refers to speaking in tongues. The ability to speak in tongues is something that is given to every Christian once they are saved or born again because it is at that time that the holy spirit is received. So one clear and very obvious proof of salvation is the ability to speak in tongues because by speaking in tongues you can really say “Jesus is lord”. Here in Corinthians, we are told that no one can say “Jesus is lord” except by holy spirit. When you are born again or saved, you receive the holy spirit. One of the things that the holy spirit allows you to do is to speak in tongues – in the Bible, that is referred to as a manifestation of holy spirit. When you speak in tongues, you are speaking by the spirit of God, and that shows that “Jesus is lord” of your life. It also shows clear and irrefutable proof of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
So, how do you know that you are saved? Well, first of all, if you have taken heed to what Romans 10:9 says and have confessed Jesus as lord and believed in your heart that God has raised him from the dead – the testimony of the Scriptures is that you are saved. The proof is that God himself says in his Word that you are saved, and there is nothing more needed than the truth of Scripture itself.
However, due to God’s grace and mercy, when a person is saved, he or she receives the gift of holy spirit. One of the ways that a Christian can manifest that spirit is to speak in tongues. Speaking in tongues – something that is possible for every Christian to do – provides evidence that “Jesus is lord”. It confirms the resurrection of Jesus Christ and shows forth that the one speaking in tongues has made Jesus their lord.