This question I was asked at the close of a Gospel meeting some years ago by a person evidently in deen concern about her own salvation.
“I know in many ways, but sit down, please, and I’ll show you from God’s Word how I know, first of all.” I replied.
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
“Now,” I said, “I am going to read this verse in another way. I will pul my name into it, and read it after this fashion:
“God so loved William Thomson.’ I have quite a right to say so for am I not in the world? And since God loved the whole world full of sinful men, I must be included. ‘That He gave His only begotten Son’, instead of William Thomson, as a Substitute. His Son died for sinners—therefore, you see, I have a title equally with every other sinner to say: ‘He died for me,’ ‘Whosoever’ means you or me. or any other sinner, so that I am peectly justified in again inserting my own name.
“‘That if William Thomson believes in Him,’ which means to claim Him as his substitute—take Him—yield to Him—put his confidence in Him—accept Him as his own personal Saviour. Well, what does God say will happen if I thus trust His Son? Read on: ‘William Thomson shall never perish.’ He deserves to perish, he has no claim at all upon Me for salvation, nor am I obliged to save William Thomson, or any other sinner on earth. But it is My pleasure to save him; since he trusts himself to My Son Who died as his substitute, William Thomson hath everlasting life.”
When I had thus read the verse, I turned to my questioner, and said,
“Now you ask me how I know I am saved? I know it this way: I believe that God loves me—I believe that He sent His Son to die for me—I believe that by accepting His Son as my Saviour, and giving myself to Him I am saved. I have accepted the Lord Jesus, and given myself to Him, just as well as I know how, and having done so, I know that I shall never pesh for I have already received everlasting life. I know these things because God, my God, says so in that verse, and I just take Him at His word.”
I had not ceased speaking when my anxious friend cried out:
“O, I see it! You just take Him at His word.”
“Yes, that’s it,” I said, and she accepted the Lord Jesus as her Saviour by taking God at His word, and she knew that she was saved.
ML 03/19/1944