Salvation Assurance

[stray dog]

In much of U2's music, particularly in the new song One Step Closer, I hear a struggle for an assurance of salvation...I myself struggle with this...does anyone else? What is the answer?

 

[anitram]

I don't know what the answer is, but from experience here, you will get a number of people who do.

 

[Jamila]

stray dog, as I go into the hospital this afternoon for outpatient surgery with an uncertain outcome, I have been holding "One Step Closer to Knowing" VERY CLOSELY TO MY HEART.

This song is not so much about needing the assurance of salvation (because there really is none in the tangible world), but in the struggle within one's Heart and Soul to TRUST THE UNIVERSE that even when all around you seems bleak, there is Light at the end of the tunnel.

That is the decision that I have had to make. I'm hoping it's a wise one. I'm trusting God on this one.

In my unknowing the future, I am one step knowing that God is in control.

Thanks for the question - it's a very important one for all of us to consider.

YOUR LOVE IS TEACHING ME HOW TO KNEEL....

 

[80sU2isBest]

The main thing that assures me of my salvation is the fact that when someone becomes a Christian, the Bible says he/she is a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17). That person is spiritually reborn; the sin nature is crucifed and replaced with a new nature, the nature of Christ. I believe in assurance of salvation because I believe those things cannot be reversed.

Here are some verses you can look over.

Sealed unto salvation - Eph 1:13; 4:30; 2Cr 1:21, 22

We may know we have eternal life - 1Jo 5:11-13

Sealed with the Holy Spirit - Eph 1:13

Jesus will never leave us - Hbr 13:5

We have passed from life to death - Jhn 5:24

The believer is free - Jhn 8:32-36

We have been set free from the law of sin & death - Rom 8:2

We shall never face judgment again - Jhn 5:24

There is no condemnation - Rom 8:1

The old man of the flesh is put to death - Rom 6:3-6

There is new life in Christ - 2Cr 5:17; Gal 2:20

We have become identified in Christ - Col 3:3; 1Cr 15:21, 22

Nothing can separate us from Christ - Rom 8:35-39

He is able to save believers forever - Hbr 7:25

 

[ADecentMelody]

Hmm, Paul wasn't so sure either...

"But I chastise my body and bring it into subjection, less perhaps after preaching to others, I myself should be rejected." I Corinthians 9:27

"Therefore let him who thinks he stands, take heed lest he fall." I Corinthians 10:12

 

[80sU2isBest]

Hmm, Paul wasn't so sure either...

"But I chastise my body and bring it into subjection, less perhaps after preaching to others, I myself should be rejected." I Corinthians 9:27

"Therefore let him who thinks he stands, take heed lest he fall." I Corinthians 10:12

I would like to ask you a question. Can a man earn salvation by his good works?

The Bible answers that quite clearly - salvation is a free gift of God given to we sinners who cannot earn our way into heaven.

If that's the case, if salvation is not based on your own works, but on God's grace, then how can you lose your salvation based on something you do?

I love what Bono says in the song "Mercy"

"What’s the use of religion if you’re any good"

A good man doesn't need God's grace; a good man can make it on his own, without God. But guess what? No man measures up to that - we all need God's grace.

 

[UnforgettableLemon]

This thread belongs in The Goal is Soul or It's a Musical Journey, methinks

 

[ADecentMelody]

I would like to ask you a question. Can a man earn salvation by his good works?

The Bible answers that quite clearly - salvation is a free gift of God given to we sinners who cannot earn our way into heaven.

As a human being, you can still (through free will) turn away from God and lose it all.

 

[80sU2isBest]

As a human being, you can still (through free will) turn away from God and lose it all.

That's our main difference, I guess. I don't believe that a true born again Christian can reject God. The Bible says that the sin nature (the old man) is crucified and the new nature, the nature of Christ, takes its place. So, how could a person who has been regenerated, turned into a new creation, become the old person again, when the sin nature has been crucified (the old man put to death) for that person?

 

[ADecentMelody]

Two words: free will. It's what separates us from the apes and all other animals. If you remove it then you contradict the very essence of why God created us.

Anyway, this is getting way too off forum. We'll have to agree to disagree.

 

[starsgoblue]

stray dog, as I go into the hospital this afternoon for outpatient surgery with an uncertain outcome, I have been holding "One Step Closer to Knowing" VERY CLOSELY TO MY HEART.

This song is not so much about needing the assurance of salvation (because there really is none in the tangible world), but in the struggle within one's Heart and Soul to TRUST THE UNIVERSE that even when all around you seems bleak, there is Light at the end of the tunnel.

I hope all will be well with you Jamila.

Thanks for posting your thoughts...I'm having a crisis of faith as of late...this helped some.

 

[Jamila]

you're welcome, stars.

While we may not obtain "salvation" simply by doing good works, it is wise to do a good work when an opportunity is put right in front of your face.

stars, just did that good work and undoubtedly made God smile.

 

[rjhbonovox]

As a human being, you can still (through free will) turn away from God and lose it all.

I have turned away from God, but have I lost it all? What is there to lose. Whats this thread all about? Please enlighten me, for I have lost my way, in this thread that is. By the way this a very American thread wouldn't you say.

 

[80sU2isBest]

By the way this a very American thread wouldn't you say.

Oh yes, that Jesus - what a great American guy.

 

[stray dog]

80"s thank you for those verses...they have really helped me to start looking outward instead of inward for answers.

 

[rjhbonovox]

Oh yes, that Jesus - what a great American guy.

I meant that only Americans can talk about religion in this way cos religion is not very important in England. At least not to me that is for sure.

 

[80sU2isBest]

80"s thank you for those verses...they have really helped me to start looking outward instead of inward for answers.

You’re quite welcome. What you touched on is one of the main points of the Gospel, I think: God wants us to rely on and lean on him 100% rather than trusting our own will and power. He wants this because he won’t mess us up, but he knows that we will mess ourselves up.

I would like to share testimony with you that might help a little.

3 years ago, I struck out into business for myself. The first year and a half was an abysmal failure. Satan used this time to plant every depressing thought into my head that he could; “I’m a loser”, “I’m a failure”, “I’ll never amount to anything”, etc. Fortunately, God used this time, also - to teach me a valuable lesson. The Holy Spirit urged me to start believing what the Bible says about me instead of what the devil says. Satan said I was a failure – the Bible said that as a Christian, I am “more than a conqueror”. Satan said I was a loser – the Bible said I already have victory in Jesus. Satan said I’m worthless – the Bible says I am worth so much to God that his own Son died on the cross for me. I had to make the concious decision to believe the truths of the Bible. This was often difficult, because my physical circumstances made it appear as if what Satan was saying was true. But I had to look past that and the devil toying with my emotions and focus on the truth. That is called “walking by faith, not by sight” – and that is the lesson God taught me.

 

[ZeroDude]

I think if your a dead on persom yourr saved though most people don't think in such simple terms in these matters.