If you recently have had the experience of receiving Christ, you may have had times when you doubted the reality of that  experience; that is, you may have questioned whether you were really saved. Without the real assurance of salvation as a solid foundation, it is difficult for a new Christian to grow and experience the deeper things of the Christian life.

Nevertheless, the Bible says it is possible to know absolutely, unreservedly, that you are a saved person. How can this be?

Let us read 1 John 5:13: "I have written these things to you that you may know that you have eternal life, to you who believe into the name of the Son of God."

It is not, "that you may think," not, "that you may hope," but "that you may know." We do not need to wait until we die to find out; this assurance is for us to enjoy today.

How can we have the assurance of salvation? There are three means:

After a Christian has received the assurance that he is really saved, he may consider, "I know that I am saved today, but how do I know that I will be saved tomorrow? Is it possible for me to lose my salvation?" For such a one, it is no longer a question of assurance, but one of security.

A man with millions in the bank has the assurance that the riches are his. But if the bank insists on leaving their vault unlocked, our rich friend will have a real problem with the security of his riches. He knows he is rich today, but he does not know about tomorrow.

Is our salvation like that? Is it something which we have today but may lose at any moment? The answer is, unequivocally, no. We can boldly say, "I know that whatever God does, it will be forever" (Eccl. 3:14).

One wonderful fact regarding our salvation in Christ is that it is irreversible, that is, it cannot be undone. Once we are saved, we are saved forever because our salvation has as its basis the very nature and person of God Himself.

Jesus told His disciples, "You did not choose Me, but I chose you" (John 15:16). In other words, salvation was God's idea, not ours. In eternity past we were chosen and even predestinated (marked out) by Him (Eph. 1:4-5). Furthermore, it was He who called us (Rom. 8:29-30). Since it was God's plan to save us in the first place, it is also His plan to keep us in that salvation. Could God choose us, mark us out, call us into salvation and then abandon us? No, God's salvation is eternal.

Furthermore, God's love and grace toward us are not conditional or temporary. It was not love from our side that saved us, but love from His (1 John 4:10). He loved us with an eternal love (Jer. 31:3). His grace was toward us in eternity past, before the world began (2 Tim. 1:9). When Christ loves us, He loves us to the uttermost (John 13:1). No sin, failure, or weakness on our part can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus (Rom. 8:35-39).

But our salvation is based not only upon God's love and grace, but even more upon God's righteousness. Our God is a righteous God. Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne (Psa.89:14). If God were to be unrighteous, His throne would lose its foundation. Therefore, if our salvation in any way involves God's righteousness, it is very strong indeed.

Suppose you run a red light and are given a $25 ticket. That $25 fine is a righteous penalty, and the law of the land demands that you pay it. If a civil judge simply overlooks your offense and releases you without paying, he is an unrighteous judge. It is not a matter of whether or not the judge loves you; he is bound by the law to collect the fine.

In the same way, our problem before God before we were saved was a legal one. We had broken God's law by our sin and had thus incurred the law's righteous judgment. According to the law of God, where transgression of the law is, death must take place (Rom. 6:23; Ezek. 18:4). It is not a matter of God loving us, overlooking our sins, and forgetting bout the law's judgment. If God were to do this, His very throne would topple. God is bound by His own law to judge sin. What can He do?

Since God desired to save us and since we could not pay the debt of sin ourselves, He in His mercy decided to do so Himself. Two thousand years ago, Jesus Christ, the incarnate God, came to die on the cross to pay the debt for our sin. Having no sin Himself, He alone was qualified to die this substitutionary death. His death, being reckoned by God as ours, was acceptable to God, and He raised Him from the dead. Now when we believe in Christ, His death is counted in God`s sight as our own. Thus, our debt of sin is righteously paid, and we are saved.

Now, can God take back this salvation which Christ has purchased? Absolutely not! Since the debt was paid, for God to demand it again from us would be unrighteous. The same righteousness which formerly called for our condemnation now calls for our justification. What powerful security this gives to our salvation! Even a worldly judge would not demand the same fine to be paid twice. Certainly God, the source of all justice and righteousness, cannot do so. 

As Watchman Nee wrote in a hymn:

For me forgiveness He has gained, And full acquittal was obtained,

All debts of sin are paid;

God would not have His claim on two, First on His Son, my Surety true,

And then upon me laid.

Thus, the Bible declares that when God saves us, He shows forth His righteousness (Rom. 1:16-17; 3:25-26).