Is there is a difference between believing God by faith that you are saved and knowing that you are saved?
I truly feel that each and every person who professed that Jesus is Lord has
asked that same question repeatedly.
Imagine that your boat capsized in a lake and Jesus casts you a life preserver.
By grabbing onto the preserver, you are professing your belief in Jesus Christ
as Lord and Savior of your life. In fear, you will not let go of the preserver
until you are finally pulled to his safety.
As you are still treading water, you feel continuous tugs on your rope. When you
look confirming scriptures into your spirit, the believing of being rescued is
coming to fruition. Believing that Jesus will save you is similar to not letting
go of the life preserver; no matter what circumstance you are enduring. It is
the knowing that Jesus is your rescuer. The emotional waves of life trials will
still continue but your grip on the rope will not diminish.
Knowing is equated to being able to hold onto the life preserver and taking one
hand off as you reach to Jesus to pull you aboard the rescue vessel. It is the
assurance that you know that you are saved. This assurance will not appear
overnight, but as you grow in the Lord, so will your faith. Soon you will be
able to take the other hand off of the preserver and climb into the boat. Into
the safety and loving arms of your Savior and Lord.
I will share with you the verses that My Father shared with me when I came to
know His Son.
Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own
understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will direct your paths. [NLT]
2 Timothy 2:19 But God's truth stands firm like a foundation stone with this
inscription: "The Lord knows those who are his," {When we follow God's truth he
will never forsake us.}
Hebrews 13:5 I will never fail you, I will never forsake you. [NLT]
1 Peter1: 8 You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not
see him, you trust him; and even now you are happy with a glorious expressible
joy.
Sue Ramsey
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Man receives Christ salvation by faith and he knows he is saved by faith,
then as he grows he can experience the peace and happiness of daily walking with
the Lord..
A good illustration is a pool of cool water on a hot day. Where I live in
eastern North Carolina in America, we have a high humidity content. On a hot
muggy day you can see the beautifully cool waters of a lake or pool and imagine
what it will be like to plunge into that refreshing water. But until you
actually experience the cool refreshing dip, your imagination cannot really
bring relief. It is that way with salvation, many will stand at the threshold of
salvation and yearn for the relief from sin that Christ can bring, but until you
actually enter into that blessed union with God, no one can imagine the
pleasures that await them.
In the book of Isaiah, chapter 6 we have the vision of Isaiah when he saw the
throne of God and the seraphim’s crying Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts:
the whole earth is full of his glory. And the posts of the door moved at the
voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.
Notice what Isaiah’s view of himself was when he saw all this, he said, Woe to
me! For I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the
midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of
hosts. That is the same view all must have as they approach the altar of grace.
Then in verse 6, Then flew one of the seraphim’s unto me, having a live coal in
his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar. That is what
happens when one receives Christ as Saviour, he is cleansed.
Notice now how Isaiah’s self image changed. Also I heard the voice of the Lord,
saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send
me. Isaiah changed from a man of no self worth, to a man that knew because of
the greatness of God , he to could go and do a work for Him.
By faith we accept the salvation that God planned for those that will receive
it, before He created man, or even the foundations of the earth. This must be
accepted by a blind trust, that we are told is faith.
Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of
things not seen.
But oh, beloved after we accept this salvation by faith and the Holy Spirit of
God almighty is taking residence in our hearts, my-my, what wonderful works of
the glory and splendor of God we behold!
Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering,
gentleness, goodness, faith,
These things are for here and now, and then we see that there are even greater
joys awaiting us when we arrive home.
1Corinthians 2:9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither
have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them
that love him.
So I would say yes there is a difference between believing God by faith that you
are saved and knowing that you are saved. By faith I believe and by faith I know
I am saved, but what wonderful gifts that God has for those that will simply
allow Him to give His gifts to them, as He deems necessary for our service to
Him.
Let me illustrate; when I was a boy I received a Daisy pump air rifle for
Christmas. It had a lever that was pumped down the length of the barrel to cock
it and allow a BB to shot from it. When I first started to use it, I would have
to place the base of the stock on the ground and drop to my knees and then use
both hands to cock the rifle. But after sometime passed and I continued to hunt
with it and target practice with it, I could use one hand to cock it and never
take the base of the stock down from shoulder. You say, but brother James you
grew and got stronger!
That right and the night I received Christ as Saviour, I had no wisdom and very
little knowledge, but as the days have passed and I have grown, well I think you
get my point.
I have been saved by grace thru faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ on
the cross and I know I am saved by faith in the same grace, but as the days roll
by and I see the wondrous works of God in my life and the lives of others, I
know I am saved by God's presence in me.
James Avery
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When you are saved, you have the Holy Spirit residing in you. He is what makes you know that you are saved and He strengthens your faith. Being saved is a verb (action) word. You shed your old self and become like new. You don't have the desire to sin like you did before.
Debi Moore
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Acts 9:1-6, Acts 27:21-25
Is there a difference? Very definitely, the answer is yes. When Paul, on the
Damascus road, saw the great light and God asked, “Saul, Saul, why persecutest
thou me?” Paul could only answer, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” He chose
to act on his belief by throwing his whole weight on God’s promise to save him.
But while in the tempest out on the sea, he went to God for help and God told
him exactly what to do to escape the storm safely. When Paul went to give those
instructions to the seamen with him, he said, “Sirs, I believe God.” He knew it
would be exactly as God said. By following the instructions giving by God in
answer to Paul’s prayer, not one of those men were drowned in the sea.
Believing in God, you gain salvation when you agree with God that your sin
deserves Hell, you throw yourself at His mercy, and the provision Christ made
for you on the Cross.
Knowing you are saved comes when someone takes the bible and shows you how and
why Christ came to save you and His promise that salvation is forever.
Audrey Mullen
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Ephesians 2:8 tells us: For it is by grace you have been saved and this not of yourselves; it is the gift of God not by works so that no one can boast. If we have accepted Christ as Savior, we can know we are saved. His word is true and never changes.
Romans 8:16 says: The Spirit Himself testifies with our Spirit that we are God's children. Only you know for certain if you have the spiritual connection with Him that salvation brings.
Sandra McGarrity
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Yes, faith is KNOWING you are saved.
Bart D. Campbell
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Believing God by faith that you are saved is the same as knowing you are
saved because faith is the assurance of things hoped for and the evidence of
things not seen (Hebrews 3:1). The things we are assured of and are fully
persuaded of are the things that we know with absolute assurance.
Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness. He staggered
not at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strong in faith, giving
glory to God and was fully persuaded that what He had promised, He is able also
to perform. In other words, he knew! (Romans 4:20-21) John equates knowing with
believing in 1 John 5:13 " These things have I written unto you that believe on
the Son of God; that you may know that you have eternal life and that you may
believe on the name of the Son of God."
George W. Romer
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If you believe God by faith that you are saved then you know that you are saved.
Cynthia Stoney
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Yes there is a difference between believing God by faith that you are saved and knowing that you are saved. No one can really be sure that they are saved because we sin every day. However Christ did die for us (John 3:16) so that we may be saved and have eternal life. But fully knowing for sure is like knowing what is going to happen to you in the near future. You don't. We have to surrender our everything to God as He asks us to, die to self, and follow Him (Romans 6:11, Colossians 3:3).
Jesus was baptized to be our example, and as a symbol of the need to die to
self. He rose from the dead just like we rise from our old selves. Jesus died to
self, and let the Holy Spirit
live through Him. We need to come boldly to the throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16).
We then realize that there is nothing we can do alone to be saved. It's all
through Jesus. What people need to do is accept Him. If we do this then we have
a pretty sure chance that we are saved. We also need to believe and have faith
that God is real, that He really sent His son to save us, and that He died for
you. We need to be willing to sacrifice and surrender ourselves and all to our
Lord.
"These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God,
that you may know that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of
God."
Courtney Webber
