I have good news for you. God is not telling you that. Those doubts comes from the old devil and his fallen angels, otherwise known as demons.

What is God’s criteria for you to be saved? It is found in a familiar verse that most people know. John 3:16. “For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes on Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

Did you see anything else in that verse other than “believe” in order to have eternal life? Of course not. That is the only criteria God gives for you to obtain His gift of salvation.

He never says you have to work for it. He never says you have to be baptized for it. He doesn’t say you have to be good, or give your money, or something else. He says to “believe” on His Son. Now, I know many people will tell you differently because they do not have the faith to believe that God will give it to you as a gift. They falsely assume that you have to do something for it in order to receive it other than believe. Some feel ashamed at the things they have done and want to do something such as some type of work to procure salvation, but you cannot. You must come humbly to the cross and receive His gift. He will take all your shame, your guilt and your sins and wash you in His precious blood and make you clean.

Let me give you a couple of verses that help us with this meaning. Listen carefully to the words. Titus 3:5-6 “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost. Which He shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior.”

Also, Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works lest any man should boast.”

That is quite clear, is it not?  If you have believed on God’s Son you are saved.  Some say, well the Bible says the devil’s believe and tremble.  Yes.  They know the terror of God, but they made their choice, left Heaven’s glory and cannot be saved.  That’s why they tremble.

Listen, the devil, along with some well meaning Christians will try to tell you something different, but do not listen to them. The Scripture is quite clear. The devil will tell you that you are an exception because you have done this or that and God will not save you or keep you saved. It is a lie. You may have believed in Christ and now you feel like you are lost. Let me give you a verse.

2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if any man (or woman) be in Christ, he(you) are a new creation. Old things are passed away; behold all things are become new.”

Know this. When God does something, it is permanent. Since it was a gift from God, you cannot un-earn it. When you believed, God created within you a “new nature” a godly nature that wants you to live a sinless life. But you still have your old nature, that fleshly nature that is prone to follow the lusts of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. 1 John 1:8 tells us that “if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” As a Christian you will sin. No it is not what God wants but you are driven by fleshly desires on a daily basis. This is the truth that John is talking about. You will not lose that nature until Jesus comes and then this “corruptible will take on incorruption” (1 Corinthians 15:53)

Paul fought with his old nature daily in Romans 7:15. He was a gallant believer in Christ and yet he struggled with his flesh daily. You will also. You must yield yourself to God, abide in Him, and do you best to live for Him. But do not listen to those thoughts in your head that tell you you are not saved because you have been guilty of sinning.

Keep a short account of sin. That means to confess that sin to God immediately when you commit it and God convicts you of it. That does not mean you should just go ahead and plan to sin because you will feel the chastening hand of God and it can be quite severe. But if you try to live for Christ, abide in Him, keep reading His Word, keep praying and yielding, you will win the battle with doubts about your salvation. May God help you do that.

Know that this is not an all inclusive treatise on this subject because that would take many more pages on this subject, but know that God gave you a free gift and if you accepted it, He honors His Word.