23. Am I Saved?

Key Verses / Passages

I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. Joel 2:28

For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life, because God did not send His son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him. John 3:16-17

If you believe in your heart and confess with your mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord, you will be saved!   Romans 10:5

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Discussion

Am I saved? This is a very good and serious question. Saved from what? Let’s find out.

Saved from sin – In the beginning of the Bible there are multiple occasions where God’s children are asked to hold a certain moral standard and fail to do so. We see this in the book of Genesis (2:15-17) where a specific instruction was given to not eat the fruit of a specific tree, and in the book of Exodus (20:1-17), where God gives us 10 commandments to live by which cannot be fully attained.

These are examples of “missing the mark”, which in Bible terms is called Sin.

The consequence of Sin is a separation from God. In the Old Testament when one sinned, they were to give a sacrifice to the Lord to cancel their sins… but we’d fail again, and another sacrifice would be needed. However, much later in history, in the book of Joel, God describes a future covenant (agreement) where God’s Laws (commandments) become internal, transforming people’s desires and understanding, instead of just external rules. God was continually teaching His people the way He wanted them to live in harmony with Him and each other. We read this in many books in the Old Testament.

Nobody could really do it from an internal choice and so the Man/God Jesus was sent from heaven to live a sin-less and blame-less life as an example and to be the one sacrifice for the sins of the whole world so that whoever believes that Jesus did that, should not perish.

The love that God has for the world is the kind of love that puts itself in harm’s way to save others because they are precious. That’s the kind of love God has for us. His only Son was sent to take our blame and pay the price for the whole world’s stuff ups. That’s awesome... and then brought Jesus back to life so that whoever believes in Him will be saved. Can you believe this?  The guy on the cross next to him did.

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Reflection / Questions

•       Am I saved?   Do you believe in your heart that Jesus is Lord over all the earth, that He died in your place because of your stuff ups? Have you told people this?  If you have, congratulations - you are saved!  If you are having doubts, that’s ok - talk with your Mentor to discuss any doubts.

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Prayer

Jesus, into your hands I commit my life - continually. Please guide me and teach me to know you and be like you so that I am really yours. Please confirm in my mind and spirit that I am yours and I am saved because of your actions and yours alone.