Reading Time: 8 minutesQuestion 7001 Few questions trouble sincere believers more than the question of assurance. “How can I know I’m truly saved?” “What if I’m deceived about my spiritual condition?” “Is it even possible to have certainty about eternal matters?” These questions, while sometimes painful, reflect a heart that takes salvation seriously. The good news is that…
Reading Time: 8 minutesQuestion 7003 This might seem a strange question at first. How could someone possess eternal life and be unaware of it? Yet pastoral experience and Scripture both suggest this is not only possible but relatively common. Many sincere believers struggle with assurance, wondering whether their conversion was genuine, whether they truly belong to God. The…
Reading Time: 9 minutesQuestion 7002 How can we tell the difference between genuine salvation and mere religious profession? This question is not merely academic; it has eternal consequences. Jesus Himself warned that many will say “Lord, Lord” on the day of judgement, only to hear Him declare, “I never knew you” (Matthew 7:21-23). The Apostle Paul urged the…
Reading Time: 7 minutesQuestion 7004 Few experiences are more distressing for Christians than the absence of spiritual feeling. You’ve trusted Jesus, you believe the Gospel, you’re trying to follow Him—yet something is missing. There’s no warmth, no joy, no sense of God’s presence. You go through the motions but feel nothing. You wonder if you’re even saved at…
Reading Time: 7 minutesQuestion 7005 Not all belief is saving belief. This is one of the most important distinctions a person can understand, for it has eternal consequences. James warns that even demons believe certain facts about God—and shudder (James 2:19). Yet demons are not saved. Their belief, whatever it is, does not constitute saving faith. What, then,…
Reading Time: 5 minutesQuestion 7010 At first glance, James 2:14-26 seems to contradict Paul’s teaching on justification by faith alone. James writes: “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?… So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead… You…
Reading Time: 6 minutesQuestion 7007 Philippians 2:12-13 is one of those passages that has puzzled believers and been misused by those who want to introduce works into salvation. Paul writes: “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with…
Reading Time: 5 minutesQuestion 7008 Few passages in Scripture have generated more debate than Hebrews 6:4-6. The writer declares: “For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the…
Reading Time: 3 minutesQuestion 06035 The word “backsliding” has an old-fashioned ring to it in some quarters, but the reality it describes is anything but historical. It names something that believers in every generation have experienced and that the biblical writers addressed with both pastoral honesty and theological seriousness. The Biblical Origins of the Term The word comes…
Reading Time: 3 minutesQuestion 07050 This question touches the foundations of Christian assurance, and it deserves a direct answer: no, a genuinely born-again believer cannot ultimately and finally fall away from salvation. But reaching that conclusion responsibly requires engaging honestly with the passages that have led many sincere people to a different answer. The Foundation of Eternal Security…