Sadly, I can relate to the story of your loved one who SAYS they believe Jesus died for our sins, but their lifestyle doesn’t match their profession of faith in Christ. I have had several close relatives die who said the very same words as your grandmother, but without any evidence of salvation (at least as far as I could see).

Should we EXPECT to see something in their life that assures us that they have put their faith in Jesus Christ alone for salvation? Yes, the Bible does teach us that if one is saved there should be evidence in their life of “saving faith.” In the book of James we read, “What use is it, my brethren, if SOMEONE SAYS HE HAS FAITH BUT HE HAS NO WORKS? Can THAT FAITH save him?” (NASB) It is easy for one to say, “I believe Jesus died for our sins,” but if there are no good works to back up that statement, James asks, “Can THAT FAITH save him?” If we read on to the end of the chapter, we see James testing the profession of one who says “I have faith” and throughout he is teaching us that a genuine LIVING FAITH is a “faith that produces good works.” If we don’t see good works, it is a DEAD FAITH. Verses 17 and 26 confirm this: “Even so faith, if it has no works, IS DEAD, being by itself…For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also FAITH WITHOUT WORKS IS DEAD.”

Now there may be those who are thinking, “So, was James teaching that one is “saved by faith and works?” No, for as I said earlier, James is teaching us that a genuine LIVING FAITH is a faith the produces WORKS. Good works are the “FRUIT of salvation,” not the “ROOT of salvation.” Ephesians 2:8-10 teaches us this same truth: “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; NOT AS A RESULT OF WORKS, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ FOR GOOD WORKS, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” When we witness to lost sinners, we usually quote verses 8-9 to show them that one is “saved by faith alone and not by works.” We are wise in doing this, but then we could also quote verse 10 to show them that once God “saves a person by faith alone,” their faith in Christ will result in them doing good works. I always tell people, “We don’t do good works TO BE SAVED, we do good works BECAUSE WE ARE SAVED.”

In closing, we must be very careful though in judging whether one is saved, for we don’t always know the whole story. Perhaps your grandmother did give evidence of salvation in her life at one time, and you weren’t around to see it. In time she lost the joy of salvation and became a carnal Christian with a worldly lifestyle (see 1 Corinthians 3:1-3). Or perhaps her profession of faith was not real and thus she never lived a godly life with good works. In a case like this we can’t know for sure if she was saved, but the Lord knows. In these cases, I take comfort in the truth of 2 Timothy 2:19, “The Lord knows those who are His.”  (DO)  (642.1)