Being Sure You Are Saved
Colossians 3:1-11
1 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.
4 When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.
5 Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:
6 For which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience:
7 In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them.
8 But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.
9 Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;
10 And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:
11 Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.
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This is a wonderful section of Scripture. There is so much that just sort of oozes out of every verse.
For many believers in Yeshua, this passage speaks to their very heart’s longing and desires. It captivates our attention right away with the “if” and “then.” It’s a cause and effect motif which starts with an assumption and then provides the basis for that assumption.
“If” and “then” calls upon the reader to immediately ask himself some pertinent questions. One must do some probing to be able to respond with a certain level of assurance.
Such as:
Have I been/am I indeed risen with Christ? And if I say that I am, what then is the evidence? What really is important to me: the tangible things of this life or the intangible things of the next?
If all this can’t be settled in a person’s heart then the rest of the verses end up just being an exercise in futility producing a life of wasted effort that ultimately ends with eternity in Hell.
So … are you sure you’re saved? This is so important.
I realize most who read this already claim salvation in Yeshua. But, I have learned over these many years not to take anything for granted. Satan is a master deceiver. One of his greatest areas of deception is the use of religion and religious service to blind folks as to their true spiritual condition. A lot of devoutly religious people are lost.
Paul goes on in this passage to lay out a few of the ways a person will know whether or not he possess salvation.
Those that have been washed in the blood of Yeshua “have put off the old man with his deeds.” This speaks of a depth of change that reaches to the very core of a person. The magnitude of this change is all encompassing. And the person knows there’s no other way to explain it except as a change brought about by God Himself.
But, there’s more.
Not only has something supernaturally been removed - “put off” - but something is in the process of being added. There’s a new mindset that has started to take hold. The person no longer thinks according to the same perspectives he once did. A new outlook on life starts to develop.
The person also notices the onset of a new “spiritual” persona … he begins to mirror the person/image of Yeshua. He’s acting and thinking more in accord with Yeshua’s way of life rather than his own. In essence, he has changed so much he doesn’t even recognize himself.
And to top it all off, the very Christ he previously rejected has now become his very “life.”
It sounds to me like that person would have a pretty good idea as to his true condition and relationship with God through Christ.
Unlike those in Matthew 7:21-23 —
21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
So it all comes down to this:
Are you among those that would fit into the narrative of Colossians chapter three or those in Matthew chapter seven? Only you, if you are honest with yourself, know the answer to that.
I said that most who read this will be those who consider themselves to be the true children on God. But, I have a feeling those in Matthew chapter seven felt the same about themselves.
The truth is that only when a person stands before Yeshua will the matter be firmly established. Perhaps that’s why Paul encouraged the Corinthians (and us by way of extension) to —
“Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?” II Corinthians 13:5
Be sure you’re saved. You eternity does depend upon it.