I gave my life to Christ at an early age, but I got away from Him for several years. Now, I’ve rededicated my life to Christ but the devil (or I think it’s the devil) yells in my ear that I’m not really saved. Is this the voice of the Lord or is it the devil? I did what Romans 10: 9 says to be saved. Do I need to do a rededication in front of my church I’m now attending in a new city?
My dear friend, I am so glad you have asked about this. I think the best way for me to respond to your question would be to remind you, using God’s Word, what salvation is, and what it is not. You mentioned in your question “Do I need to do a rededication in front of my church I’m now attending….” But, salvation is not based on completing a certain act, like dedicating one’s life to Christ before a church congregation, or responding to an invitation to come forward at a Gospel meeting. Salvation is not based on any action that we can do other than believing. It is purely a matter of realizing that you are a sinner in need of salvation and trusting in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ at Calvary on your behalf. We read in John 3:16, “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”.
Christ is the only One who can truly save the soul from the judgment that we all deserve; and it is He who calls us to faith—salvation is based on faith alone in the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast,” (Ephesians 2:8,9).
Ephesians 6, 10-18 speaks of the spiritual warfare that confronts believers in this fallen world, and indeed, Satan is usually quick to accuse believers in an attempt to try to rob them of the joy and peace of their salvation through his fiery darts. He cannot rob us of our salvation but can and certainly will try to discourage the saints through introducing doubts based on his lies, and/or intimidation. If one is truly a believer in Christ, then they are saved once and for all, and can look to the Word of God for that blessed assurance of salvation.
Now, let’s look at the verse you cited, Romans 10:9,10: “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” What is our Lord telling us in these verses? Just as in so many other verses of Scripture, we see here that salvation is a matter of faith alone–believing in the heart that Christ died for our sins, and that He rose from the dead. And how do we confess the Lord Jesus? We definitely are to confess Jesus before the world—that would go hand in hand with being saved. Joy usually accompanies the conversion of a soul, and the saved one usually wants to tell others about their new life in Christ. Also, when we are baptized, we generally give a public testimony of our faith. Consider the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8. This man was reading Isaiah 53, a prophesy about Christ, and he asked Phillip to explain it all to him. This Phillip did, and the Ethiopian believed the Word of God. No one asked him to confess or to come forward and dedicate his life. Phillip simply told him the truth about Jesus as prophesied in this passage of Scripture, and the Holy Spirit did His work in this man’s heart—he believed without being prompted by Phillip, and he of his own accord asked to be baptized. We read in verses 36-39, “And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him. And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing.” The eunuch confessed his faith before Phillip and the others in the caravan that he was traveling with, and he asked to be baptized. Phillip shared that if he truly believed, in other words was saved, he could be baptized. Baptism is a testimony to the world that one is now a Christian. And, the eunuch went away rejoicing—he did not try to keep his conversion a secret.
Now, consider the malefactor on the cross next to the Lord Jesus in Luke 23. Just a short time before he died, this man believed on the Lord Jesus, and rebuked the other malefactor for taunting Jesus. We read in verses 40-43, But the other answering rebuked him saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.” This man had no chance to recite a sinner’s prayer, nor to be baptized, nor to change his life in any way. He simply put his trust in Jesus to be saved. We read in Hebrews 7:25, “Wherefore He (Jesus) is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them.”
My dear friend, the question is not whether you have made a confession before the church, or recited the sinner’s prayer, or answered an alter call. These are acts that you might point to on a given day, but they do not necessarily speak of your trust in the promises of God along with recognizing the Holy Spirit’s work of sanctification in your life. If you truly believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and in His finished work on the cross for you, then you are saved. It is all a matter of faith, and you can rest on the rock-solid promises of God’s word, just as the malefactor or the eunuch did. Here are some more of those precious promises: Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord”; John 1:12, “But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name…”.
My dear friend, I will be praying for you that you truly rest your eternal destiny on the finished work of our Lord Jesus Christ, and may you find the assurance that you seek through trusting in His Word, which cannot fail.
Romans 5:1, “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” John 20:30,31, “And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book: But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.”