What if I don’t feel saved? That is a common question. We’ll always have doubts if we look to ourselves for assurance of salvation. As Christians, we will still sin and fall short of God’s truth for our lives. But our salvation doesn’t depend on our behavior. Our feelings will never anchor our soul:
“We have this hope as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul” (Hebrews 6:19).
We Have a Sure Hope of Salvation
What is this sure hope that’s an ‘anchor of the soul.’ We’re missing our anchor if we don’t feel saved. So, what is the sure hope the Bible mentions here? It’s not ourselves, our behavior, or our feelings.
The anchor is that God made a promise:
John 3:16
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life…. He who believes in Him (Jesus) is not condemned. But he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God (John 3:16, 18).
Whoever Believes in Jesus has Eternal Life
God gave us His Son, Jesus, and said whoever believes in Him has eternal life. The questions are:
- How trustworthy is God?
- Will He fulfill His promise?
- Do you believe Him?
It’s really that simple.
Have You Believed in God’s Son Jesus?
If you have, you have God-given eternal life that you can’t lose. The Bible further explains the security of God’s promise of eternal life.
God made an oath:
“So God, wanting to show more abundantly the immutability of His counsel to the heirs of promise, confirmed it by an oath” (Hebrews 6:17).
In a court, before people gave testimony, they used to put their hand on a Bible and swear to tell the truth so help them God. That’s rare in courtrooms today. They were “swearing by a greater authority than themselves” (Hebrews 6:16). They held themselves to the highest standard, saying their testimony was God’s truth.
The Bible points out that God can’t swear an oath to a higher authority because He’s the standard of truth. So, to help us understand the certainty of His promise, God gave the oath and swore by Himself!
God Fulfills His Promises
Also, it’s impossible for God to lie. And that’s a second assurance that He will fulfill His promises:
“So that by two immutable (unchangeable) things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us” (Hebrews 6:17-18).
“We have this hope as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, which enters the Inner Place behind the veil” (Hebrews 6:19).
The ‘Inner Place’ is the Holy of Holies, the very presence of God. Jesus’ work of salvation allowed Him as a man to enter the presence of God safely, and because He did, we can also.
“This (the ‘Inner Place”) is where Jesus has entered for us as a forerunner” (Hebrews 6:20).
Jesus Accomplished Eternal Salvation
When we don’t feel saved, we’re looking to ourselves instead of believing God’s promise. His promises are the anchor of our soul:
“Therefore we should be more attentive to what we have heard, lest we drift away” (Hebrews 6:20).
Look instead to God’s promises.
We invite you to watch the Great News video on this page for more about believing in Jesus for salvation and forgiveness.
