I Keep Getting Saved Over And Over Again: Am I Really Saved?

Updated January 27th, 2001

Question

Dear Pastor Malone:

I spoke to you a while back about my salvation. I went to my pastor when I was 11years old and told him I wasn’t sure if I was saved. He talked to me for a while and then I knelt down and asked Jesus to forgive me of my sins and come into my heart and save me.  I continued in church till after high school then I slowly got in with the wrong people at college and next thing I knew I was out of church and sin got to be more frequent and more severe.

I found myself in some sexual immorality.  I would swear I was done, and then a few weeks later, I would fall again. I even went to the alter and asked Jesus to forgive me and to save me if I wasn’t saved. But later I fell again. 

I said that to say this, you say that you believe that if someone is saved they will do the will of the father.  But when I went and knelt down and asked Jesus to come into my heart and save me at age 11, I believed I had for some time.  I also wanted to be saved.  I went in there wanting salvation.  So my question is, since I fell into terrible sin what would I have to have been thinking when I was asking Jesus to save me for him to have not saved me when I asked. 1year ago I was struggling and got onto some trouble and was upset at what I had become so I cried out to god to save me if I wasn’t saved, the same thing I did before. I still struggle but I am serving the lord and praying and reading. Could you tell me why god wouldn’t have saved me when I was 11?

Thank you
Brad

Answer

Brad:

Thanks for writing.  I get a lot of mail from people who have this very question.  They were saved at a young age, fell back into sin for many years (typically late teens through late twenties) and at some point rededicated their lives (usually in their thirties or forties). 

Am I saying that you or these others who have written are not saved?  To tell you the truth Brad, I address anyone and everyone who is not in the will of God as lost.  Why do I do that!  It’s simple.  I don’t believe that everyone that says they’re saved is.  My evidence is very clear and is found in Matthew 7:21.  It states, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.”  What does that tell me as a minister of the Gospel?  I have to examine the lives of those I minister to and warn them that God has called them out of sin and into a new life in Christ.  Meaning: When the Lord truly saves someone, He comes in and changes their want to.  Don’t get me wrong, Christian’s still commit sin.  But a true Christian will confess it and turn from that sin.  They won’t wallow in it for years and years.  That’s not the character trait of a true born again believer.  If a person claiming to be a Christian has a lifestyle of sin I do not believe they were ever truly saved.  Many today are living in this state and claim they will go to heaven because they went to an alter and prayed a prayer.  They are believing a lie from the devil and taking an awful chance with their eternal destination.  When we finally face God, there won’t be any second chances.  That’s why it is important to KNOW that you are saved.

Whether you were truly saved at eleven years old or later on in life is not for me to judge.  Only God knows the true answer to that question.  Obviously, you didn’t feel that you were saved any of the times you prayed for salvation.  But I can say this for sure, I would never want to face God in the condition of not knowing for sure if I were saved.  Because the Bible definitely says that we can know positively.  “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.” I John 5:13

I will say this, sin in a Christian’s life will always open the door for satan to come in and put doubts in an individuals mind to whether they are really saved.  The fact that you were living in sin could never give you or anyone else the assurance that you could be saved.  Why?  Because you knew that wasn’t the lifestyle of a Christian.

Any time I have been out of the will of God or in rebellion, I knew it, and doubts would always creep in.  Doubts that I was saved, that God loved me, followed by confusion.  That’s of the devil and is normal.  I immediately confess my sin and turn from it.  If I have wronged someone I make it right.  That restores my fellowship with God.  satan will still bring to mind my unworthiness or doubts of my salvation, but I know that’s a lie based on the Word of God.  Oh, and by the way, use the same formula for sin’s that so easily beset you (sin’s that seem to keep reoccurring).  If you are serious, God will eventually free you of that sin.  But remember, true repentance means that you are truly sorry for your sin.  It’s not a band-aid that wipes out the penalty until the next sinful opportunity arises.  That’s not true repentance!

I do want to mention something I picked up from your last paragraph.   You indicated that the last time you cried out to the Lord that you still had doubts at times, but were reading and praying.  Those are two very important ingredients of a regenerated life.  I believe that you are saved because you are seeking a relationship with the Lord.  That is the true evidence of salvation, which goes hand in hand with doing the will of the Father (Matt. 7:21).  The doubts that you have are of satan and exist due to your lack of knowledge of the Bible.  satan loves to play on a person’s lack of knowledge (Eve in the garden) and insecurities of who they really are in Christ.  But I have confidence that you will overcome this mindset as you learn more about the Word and God’s true love for you. 

I hope this has helped you and brought new insight.

Pastor Malone