And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish (never be separated from God); neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand (take them away from Me).  

John 10:28 

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These things I have written unto you that believe in the name of the Son of God; that you may know that you have eternal life (with God).  

1 John 5:13

 

 

Salvation

Salvation is being saved or rescued from the penalty of sin. We are all sinners, and the consequence of sin is death — not just physical death, but eternal separation from God. To be saved from your sin, you must do three things: Ask forgiveness for your sins; be willing to turn from your sins; and believe that Jesus Christ — our Lord and Savior — died for your sins and rose again. If you have done these things, you are saved! You have salvation, which means you have accepted God’s love and forgiveness, are adopted into His family and have fellowship with His people — your fellow Christians. You are free from the power of sin — a child of God! The Bible promises you eternity in heaven (Romans 10:9-10)

 

How do I know I’m saved?

First, you are saved through a personal faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ as defined in the Scriptures. The Gospel refers to the news of Christ’s death and resurrection in order to pay the penalty for our sins and provide a way to eternal life.

 

Though it might at first seem dogmatic and narrow-minded to you, the fact remains that there is no other way to be saved from your sins than by God’s grace through your faith in Christ. The work of Christ is a fact, His cross is a fact, His tomb is a fact and His resurrection is a fact.

 

Trusting in Christ for your eternal salvation is trusting in a fact – not in a figment of someone’s imagination.

 

The Bible says that a man is “justified by faith” (Romans 3:28), and not by feeling. A person is saved by trusting in the finished work of Christ on the cross and not by bodily sensations and religious ecstasy.

 

Saving faith is a faith that produces obedience. It is a faith that brings about a new way of life. Some have successfully imitated this way of life for a time, but for those who trust Christ for salvation, that faith brings about a desire to live out that inward experience of faith. It is a power that results in godly living.

 

And this is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life (fellowship with God), and this life is in his Son, Jesus. Whoever has the Son has that  life; whoever does not have God's Son does not have that life. I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life.

1 John 5:11-13

 

One of the Bible's greatest truths is that Christ died to take away all our sins — not just part of them, but all of them: past, present and future.

 

You shouldn't fear losing your salvation every time you sin. If that were the case, we would lose our salvation every day. Even if our actions are pure, our thoughts often are not. And even if our actions and thoughts are pure, we still sin because of the good things we should do but don’t.

 

Never forget: Your salvation does not depend on you and how good you are; it depends solely on Christ and what He has already done for you through His death on the cross. The Bible says that Christ "appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of Himself" (Hebrews 9:26).

 

Does that mean it doesn't matter whether or not you sin?

No, of course not. Sin is serious; it is an offense to God, and it breaks our fellowship with Him. God calls us to “be holy, because I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:16). We should also be a good witness for Christ; others should be able to look at us and tell that something is different about our lives.

 

You can’t live the Christian life in your own strength. You need God's help, which is why He has given His Holy Spirit to you. When you sin, confess it immediately, then seek the Holy Spirit's help each day to live as you should.

 

Forgiveness

Your mistakes might be as simple as hurting your friend’s feelings, or a sin far more serious. Seeing the pain we’ve caused and feeling the misery of remorse, shame and guilt can sometimes be overwhelming and devastating. We wonder if we can ever overcome our mistakes and feel the peace of being forgiven. We unequivocally can, because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the process of repentance. We can confess our sins to God and ask His forgiveness. And he’s promised that He’ll "remember them no more".

 

It works because Heavenly Father sent his son, Jesus Christ, to voluntarily suffer and pay for our sins and sorrows by atoning for them Himself. We can’t fully understand how Jesus suffered for our sins. But we know that in the Garden of Gethsemane, the weight of our sins caused Him such agony that He bled from every pore (Luke 22:39-44).

 

In addition to asking God’s forgiveness, He also wants us to ask forgiveness of those we’ve harmed, see if we can repair the damage, and promise not to repeat the same mistakes. Then we can move forward feeling God’s love and the incredible peace and joy that come from being fully forgiven.

 

 

*http://goingfarther.jesus.net/basics-of-christianity/