are you saved?

If you've ever questioned your salvation, this is for you, if you do not have a full assurance of faith, this is for you.

In this discussion I want you "Christian" to consider the life according to the word and not sugar-coat the word for your assurance of salvation:

One does the Spirit bear witness that you are a child of God? It's yes or no.

Do you have victory over sin? Yes I know you'll be tempted and still mess up, but is Christ presently winning the fight in you?

Do you love God? Which is seen in keeping his commandments.

Does your assurance of Salvation come from knowing you prayed a prayer, because you "think" you have saving faith, or you've changed alot (outwardly) since you got saved?

Do find yourself alot about holiness and obedience because you know your lacking?

Do you find yourself always trying/willing to live the Christian life but never doing it?

Do find yourself making excuses for you sin, because you have no victory?

Do you hate how you feel when you sin, but not actually the sin itself (because you always come back to it without prompting and enjoy your time in it)?

Do you know GOD, do you experience him when you not emotionally high?

Have you ever known the power of his presence?

Have you ever felt his love?

Does your relationship with the Lord, consist of you reading about him in the word and learning his characteristic, but never experiencing them?

___________Verdict____________

If the Spirit doesn't bear witness in your Spirit that your a child of God you aren't.

If you do not know God by experience you are not saved.

If you've been walking with the Lord for years and you have yet to overcome sin, I'd worry, unless the above are NOT true of you

If you find yourself talking the talk and walking the external walk, but you heart has not changed you are not saved?

If you struggle with masturbation and or pornography, after being a Christian for a long time I'd worry.

_______Conclusion________

We lie to ourselves all the time because of the evil wolves that preach on the pulpit. Examine yourself and don't got easy, examine yourself again periodically. If you don't see an inward change, an experiential knowledge of GOD, and you continue to habitually fall to the same sins deem yourself as what you are an unbeliever, a child of wrath, a hater of God.

Losing your salvation causes fear

Losing Salvation is to cause fear, because it is possible for us, but impossible for God; as for Christ, sinning was possible for his human body and not his Divine Spirit. So these things are impossible yet possible, but in the end they will never happen, because God will not fail.

Salvation is for YHWH's Holy Name's sake

I was reading in the prayer Jesus gave to his disciples when they asked him, "Lord teach us to pray." In beginning is the line "Hallowed be your name" or your name be made holy/ your name be sanctified. I asked "Why?", "What does that mean exactly?"

Well the Lord through a friend lead me to Ezekiel 36 where it talks about the what has been dubbed the new covenant (whether by man or the Bible I don't know). Before the LORD God goes into it He explains how Israel has profaned His holy name and then says:

But I had pity for mine holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the heathen, whither they went. Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for mine holy name's sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen, whither ye went. And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, saith the Lord GOD, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes.
(Eze 36:21-23)

Thus this is the reason why He gave us what is dubbed the new covenant.

Old Testament Afterlife

Something that has always intrigue me was the old testament conception of death (before David at least). From reading certain Psalms and Job you see that the idea of death was similar to that of Gilgamesh and the Greek Hades. We see that when someone died they expected to be in the grave forgetting everything and/or in some sort unpleasant situation. But then I read:

Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope: Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
(Acts 2:26-27 quoted from Psalm 16)

I it was clear they did have a different conception of death then we do. We see David was glad realizing that hell wasn't his final abode, but that he would be resurrected.

Or he knew of the resurrection and they still dreaded the time that their soul would spent in the grave, Sheol.

I'm not being dogmatic, just trying to understand the Hebrew mind before Christ came. I see that many of the promises to Israel was earthly, though they can be translated to be spiritual "ideas", they are promises of physical prosperity.

The Spiritualizing of the law we see in the lives of men of Faith and in the New Testament

Application:Thank the Lord that you will be resurrected in Christ on the last day and that we live under the new covenant and not under the law.