I think every Christian who has ever lived – myself included – has wrestled with these same doubts at one time or another.
God doesn’t want you to wonder about where you stand with him. He wants you to have assurance and peace of mind about your relationship with him.
How can you know for sure if you’re right with God? How can you put those doubts, fears, and shame to rest? Here are five steps you can take.
1. Remember you didn’t earn your salvation.
“God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.” – Ephesians 2:8-9 (NLT)
There’s nothing you can do to earn your salvation, which means there’s nothing you can do to lose it either. If you’ve prayed to make Jesus the Savior and Lord of your life, it is a free gift from God.
2. Realize no sin can overpower Christ’s work on the cross.
“For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And it was not paid with mere gold or silver, which lose their value. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.” – 1 Peter 1:18-19 (NLT)
There is no sin you that is more powerful than the blood Jesus Christ shed to pay for your sins. God won’t kick you out of his family because you’ve sinned or messed up. On those days when you miss the mark (and we all have those days), confess it to God, ask for his forgiveness, turn away from it and turn towards him (1 John 1:9).
3. Recognize God won’t go back on his word.
“God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him…” – John 3:17-18a (NLT)
If you’ve asked Jesus to be your Savior and Lord, you have been declared “not guilty” because of what Jesus did on the cross for you. There is no judgement against you if you put your faith in him.
4. Rediscover Jesus’ promise to never reject you.
“However, those the Father has given me will come to me, and I will never reject them.” – John 6:37 (NLT)
Never means never. No matter what you’ve said or done, Jesus has promised he will NEVER reject you. Other people may turn their back on you, but Jesus never will.
5. Reflect on God’s love for you.
“No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” – Romans 8:39 (NLT)
There is nothing you, or anyone else, can do that EVER make God stop loving you. God will never love you any more or any less than he does right now.
Jeff McClung 