If You Doubt Your Salvation, Does That Mean You Are Not Truly Saved?

Everyone has occasional doubts. Whether or not you have doubts is not what determines whether you are a Christian. Just know that even when a believer is faithless, God is always faithful (2 Timothy 2:13). 

God wants us to be sure and confident of our salvation (Romans 8:38-39; 1 John 5:13). God promises that everyone who believes in Jesus Christ will be saved (John 3:16; Romans 10:9-10). We have all sinned and fallen short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23) and as a result, we deserve death and an eternity away from God (Romans 6:23). But this is not God’s plan because He loves his creation.

God loves us enough to send his son, Jesus to die in our place. Jesus Christ took the punishment that we deserved (Romans 5:8) and as a result, all those who believe in Him are saved and eternally secure.

Sometimes doubting is a good thing. Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 13:5 “examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith.” We are to test ourselves to be sure that Jesus is truly our Savior and the Holy Spirit is truly in us. If He is, we can in no way lose the salvation Christ has obtained for us (Romans 8:38-39). If He's not, then perhaps the Holy Spirit is convicting us of sin and prompting us to repent and be reconciled to God through Christ.

The assurance of our salvation comes from the knowledge that once we are in Christ, we are eternally secured. But genuine saving faith is evidenced by its works (James 2:14-26) and the fruit of the Spirit within us (Galatians 5:22). The lack of this evidence can sometimes be the cause of our doubts.

What are we saved from?

In the Christian doctrine of salvation, we are saved from “wrath,” that is, from God’s judgment of sin (Romans 5:9; 1 Thessalonians 5:9). Our sin is a thick wall that separate us from God, and the consequence of sin is death (Romans 6:23). Biblical salvation refers to our deliverance from the consequence of sin and therefore involves the restoration of our soul to Christ.

Who does the saving?

Only God can remove sin and deliver us from sin’s penalty (2 Timothy 1:9; Titus 3:5).

How does God save?

In the Christian doctrine of salvation, God has rescued us from his wrath through Jesus Christ (John 3:17). Specifically, it was Jesus’ death on the cross and subsequent resurrection that achieved our salvation (Romans 5:10; Ephesians 1:7).

The scripture is clear that salvation is the gracious, undeserved gift of God (Ephesians 2:5, 8) and is only available through faith in Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12).

Ephesians 2:8 says, "For by grace you are saved, through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is God's gift-not from works, so that no one can boast."

How do we receive salvation?
We are saved by faith. First, we must hear the gospel—the good news of Jesus’ death and resurrection (Ephesians 1:13). Then, we must believe—fully trust the Lord Jesus (Romans 1:16). This involves repentance — abstinence from sin and reconciliation with Christ (Acts 3:19), calling on the name of the Lord (Romans 10:9-10, 13) for forgiveness and attornment.

Have you placed your faith in Christ? If the answer is yes, then throw away your doubts and trust God. If you know Jesus as your Savior, you are saved without a doubt! If the answer is no, then believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved!

Here is a brief differences between doubt and unbelief

• Unbelievers experience unbelief, but believers experience doubt.
• Unbelief is an issue of the heart (Hebrews 3:12, Romans 10:9-10), but doubt is an issue of the mind (James 1:6-8).
• Unbelief is a choice, while doubt often takes place when we’re striving to understand. We believe, but we’re confused by what God is or isn’t doing.

There’s a great example in Luke 7 when John the Baptist is in prison and he sends messengers to ask Jesus if He’s the Messiah or not. Pretty crazy to think of John – of all people – asking that. He had doubts, but he wasn’t experiencing unbelief. He wasn’t an apostate like Judas.

God cares, He wants to hear from you. Call him now, while he is near. Don't wait until it's too late. There is no more time left.