Signs That You're Saved

I'm currently working my way through Colossians in preparation for Relay 1 in August - I reckon you could probably find a good few of us future Relay workers by looking to see who else is writing blog posts on Colossians :P

Ever wondered if you're saved? Maybe you've accepted Jesus and put your trust in him, but you're just waiting for that magical feeling that you've been accepted by him.Paul gives thanks in Colossians 1:3-5 for three characteristics he's heard of in the Colossian Christians. The three characteristics he refers to are faith in Christ, love for all the saints and hope in heaven. It's a pretty good checklist of things to look for to see if you're saved!

Faith in Christ

This is the consequence of the work of the Holy Spirit in someone, not the cause of it. How often do we think that our faith is something that we do? That's completely wrong - before, we were completely dead and blind; now, we have been given faith as a gift from God- our eyes have been opened and we have been shown that the Gospel is the truth. Thus if we have faith, it has been given to us by God and it is evidence that we are saved.

Love for all the Saints (other Christians)

Love can be an easy thing to do if you like the other person. If they're attractive, pleasant or fun to be around, it's easy. Try loving someone that is the opposite of that - someone who's different to you or who's hard to get on with - is hard. However, that is the essence of Christian love. It's a love that can only come from God. This love is what binds people who are so incredibly different into a unique fellowship called the church.

Hope in Heaven

This is the confidence that we as Christians have that whatever happens here on Earth, whether it's persecution, suffering or comfortable living, there are infinitely better things stored up in heaven. It's the hope that enables us to persevere and endure hard times or the hope that helps us from getting too materialistic and focussing too much on the here and now. Again this hope can only come from God, if you've got it you're saved!So, if you can see these things in your life, you're definitely saved and if you can see these things in your friends, they're definitely saved!

Note: updated 23/7/08 due to David pointing out my grammatical errors :/