4. Question: Why do I doubt my salvation?

Answer: There are many reasons Christians doubt their salvation:

a. Satan. The father of lies, Satan, loves to lie to Christians. The enemy, Satan, is able to tempt you and lie to you by speaking to your mind. When you begin to believe the lies of the enemy, go to the Bible to replace lies with the truths of the Lord. If you continue to believe the lies of the enemy, Satan will oppress you and take joy and peace away from you (Satan cannot possess a Christian because the Spirit of Jesus lives in the heart of the Christian and possesses the body and life of the Christian). Every day, ask our Lord Jesus to renew your mind through the power of His Spirit and through the power of His Word the Bible, in order that you will have more of the mind of Christ. Read Psalm 46; Matthew 22:37; Ephesians 2:8-9; Ephesians 4:17-24; Philippians 2:5; Philippians 4:4-8; Romans 8; Romans 10:13; Colossians 3:1-3; 2 Timothy 2:15; Hebrews 13:5. Romans 12:2: "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." 2 Timothy 1:7: "For God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power and of Love and of a sound mind."  

b. Sin. When we sin (disobey God) we often listen to the lie of Satan: "If you were a true Christian you would not sin like that." The Bible states no person can be perfect; this is the reason Jesus died to pay the penalty for our sins at the cross. As Christians, we can know we are saved because we receive the conviction of the Spirit of Jesus to turn away from our sin. Christians often mistake "conviction of sin" for "guilt" (if you were still guilty for your sins you would need to pay the price for your sin). We are never again guilty for our sins since we received God's free gift of forgiveness and because Jesus paid the penalty in full for our sins and guilt at the cross. "Conviction of sin" is simply the Holy Spirit of God reminding us after we have sinned that we need to turn from that sin, draw close to Jesus and seek the power of God to overcome that sin. Sin cannot cause us to lose our forgiveness and home in heaven (Jesus said He will unconditionally love us and never leave us) but unrepentant sin will cause us negative consequences on earth. Matthew 12:6-8; Romans 6:23; Romans 8:31-39; Galatians 6:7; Ephesians 2:8-9; Hebrews 13:5; James 4:7-10; 1 John 1:8-9.

c. Emotions. Some Christians, at times, do not "feel saved." After you have sinned or forgotten to pray for awhile, you may experience the emotion of anger toward yourself; you may feel sad that you have disappointed Jesus, others and/or yourself; you may become angry at God because of a disappointment in life; these emotions can result in a Christian concluding: "I don't feel saved." Those thoughts bring about sadness and confusion. Please remember that Christians all over the world and throughout every age has had these thoughts and emotions.

Please remember that our emotions can change like the weather but the truths of God in the Bible never change. Jesus promised you in Romans 10:13 that if you would call upon Him to save you, He will save you forever! That is an eternal promise that never changes! If you were sincere when you asked Jesus to forgive you forever, if you trusted Him to eternally forgive you, if you surrendered to Him as your God and Master, if you trusted Jesus as the only way to heaven, then Jesus kept His promise, His Spirit entered your heart and you became an eternally forgiven child of God. Nothing can change your status as a child of King Jesus! Even when you don't "feel saved," Jesus promises you are still saved and nothing can ever change that! Once you sincerely ask Jesus to forgive you forever, you never need to say that prayer again because He saves eternally! Now that's great news!

Click on www.fathersloveletter.com and then click on "Watch." Enlarge the small screen in order to watch it on your entire large computer screen. Whenever you doubt your salvation, watch this again.    

For a study on Biblical truths about eternal forgiveness, click on: http://www.calvarypilotpoint.com/EternalSecurity.dsp 

It is very important to strengthen your faith by reading your Bible daily and by praying daily, by regulary attending a Bible believing evangelical church near your home, by regularly attending a Bible study group in your church and by using your spiritual gifts and talents in and through your church to minister to others. These will be your spiritual exercises; if you neglect your spiritual exercises you will block your spiritual arteries and quench the Spirit of Jesus in your heart. When we quench the Spirit of Jesus we suffer doubt, fear and the attacks of the enemy, but when we do the will of the Lord and enjoy spiritual exercise daily we free the Spirit of Jesus to live and minister through us and we remain filled with the Spirit of Jesus, full of the faith, peace, joy and the Love of Jesus! Go to www.calvarypilotpoint.com/HowToGrow.dsp

It should also help you to read truth out loud every time you doubt your salvation. Go to http://www.calvarypilotpoint.com/TruthAboutSalvation.dsp

If you do all these things and continue to have continual doubt, fear, severe anxiety, depression, or worry about your salvation or other life issues, it may not be a spiritual problem at all but it may be entirely a psychological problem. Just like a person with diabetes needs medication, a person with a chemical imbalance in the brain has a physical problem and needs medication to balance the brain chemicals. Some persons are unable to benefit from reading truths in scripture until they take proper medication that will help them to think clearly and rationally. Those suffering from severe anxiety and/or severe depression are unable to find relief until they take the proper medications. It is important to find a Christian psychiatrist and a Christian Licensed Professional Counselor who can help you. Counseling and the proper combination of medications go together. Counseling will not help you if your medications are not right. On the other hand, the proper combination of medications will not continue to help without proper Christian counseling. In the north Texas area, Dr. Frank Minirth, Dr. Paul Meier and Dr. Todd Clements are outstanding Christian psychiatrists in the Dallas area who also offer excellent Christian Licensed Professional Counselors. If you do not live near these Christian doctors, you can look up their website, call their office and you will be referred to a Christian doctor or counselor in your area. I recommend you see your Christian psychiatrist once a month or so until your medicines are properly balanced and I recommend you see your Christian Licensed Professional Counselor twice a week until you have less depression and/or anxiety.

Ask Jesus to lead you, heal you and then trust Jesus to help you. Seek and you will find the help of the Lord. Matthew 7:7; Proverbs 24:6; Hebrews 10:25; 1 Corinthians 12:4-31.  

To hear a sermon on this topic go to: http://www.godtube.com/watch/?v=F9MB21NU

To understand how you can be sure you are going to heaven click on www.calvarypilotpoint.com/HowcanIbesureIamgoingtoheaven.dsp

To understand how to become a Christian click on www.calvarypilotpoint.com/Howtobecomeachristian/