Second Friend Day - Elmer Towns

Chapter 2
KNOWING YOU ARE SAVED
"There's nothing sure in life but death and taxes," the saying goes. But that's not true.
You can be certain of your salvation. Just as 'you are sure that you will go down when falling
from a tree, you can know that God has saved your soul. Just as you know that a fire is certainly
hot, you can know that you have eternal life.
But some people doubt their salvation. The young man goes to bed at night and tosses
and turns. He is scared to die. "How will I meet God?"
A teenage boy stands chatting with some friends. Someone tells a story and when the
punch line comes, it's dirty. The teenage boy laughs, but inwardly he thinks, "Christians
shouldn't laugh at dirty stories. . . am I a Christian?"
While riding his motorcycle down the street, a young man sees a girl sunbathing on her
front lawn ... in a bikini. He looks two or three times. Then thinks to himself, "I shouldn't be
doing this. Am I a Christian?"
These people doubted their salvation because of temptation. Others are just ignorant of
the Scriptures, or have a carefree attitude.
An unchurched mother was invited to a Bible study where she began learning the Word
of God. Many of her questions were answered. Later she attended an evangelistic service and
went forward during the invitation. She had a deep experience with Christ and her life was
turned around. All the way home she sang the hymns she had learned. She threw her arms
around her husband. "Honey, I got saved!" She gathered the family together and told them the
thrilling story. A week later she broke her leg on the back steps. Her housework got behind, the
kids fought when they took care of the chores and she got discouraged. From the height of her
salvation she sank to the depth of despondency. "Was it real?" she wondered. She had let her
emotions prop up her Christian life to the point where she depended upon them. Perhaps God
was teaching her to put her trust in His Word rather than in her feelings.
Three men were walking down a country path when they came to a log across the creek.
The first man "Feelings" stumbled on the log. The second man "Faith" slipped, but the third man
"Fact" never lost his footing. You should never base your salvation upon your feelings, never
even let your faith in God be your confidence; your assurance of salvation must be grounded in
the facts of the Word of God.
The key word in John's first epistle is know. He gives many reasons how we can know
we're saved.
1. You know you are saved when you want to keep His commandments. God's
commandments are based on His nature; they are what He wants us to do. The natural man has a
sinful nature and doesn't want to follow God. When you were unsaved, you did not want to do