Do you ever have times of doubt about your salvation? This is normal, as the enemy is relentless. Know how the Holy Spirit vs the enemy and the flesh works:
First, reassure yourself of your belief in the simple gospel truth. Take all emotion and feelings out of it and think upon these salvation scriptures with pure logic:
IF: you believe the gospel found in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 (that Christ died to pay for all our sins, was buried and rose again the third day) and don’t trust in any of your own works (Ephesians 2:8-9)
THEN: the nanosecond you first believed that gospel you were indwelt by and sealed with the Holy Spirit, which is the guarantee of your eternal life and salvation (your inheritance) — Ephesians 1:13-14.
Now, understand how the Holy Spirit and the enemy work to convict believers (the saved) and unbelievers (the unsaved):
For unbelievers:
God wants all people saved, and uses the Holy Spirit to convict unbelievers of their sin and their need for the Savior Jesus. The enemy wants to drag people to hell with them, and deceives the unbeliever into thinking that they are either “a good person” or are in “the proper religion (other than pure gospel faith Christianity)” or have “turned from all their sins” and are going to heaven for it, or straight up tries to deceive them into thinking that there is no God or afterlife at all, so that they’ll never seek the truth of how to become saved.
For believers:
God wants them to have assurance of their salvation and convicts them of their righteousness (being perfectly acceptable to God) through faith in the gospel. The enemy hates the believer and knows they can’t have their soul anymore, so they try their hardest to steal the joy of your salvation by deceiving you into thinking that you are unsaved, perhaps telling you that you’ve committed too many bad sins lately or that you don’t truly believe the gospel. They can also sometimes try to bring you under works for salvation and tell you that you’re not turning from all your sins in order to be acceptable to God, and that you’ve lost your salvation (which is impossible. See note on: Eternal Security). Your flesh and the enemy can also custom tailor deceptions created just for your specific situation, so be aware of their schemings.
Also understand that we as our reborn, renewed inner man is sinless (born of incorruptible seed and kept from sinning), yet we still live in our unregenerate sinful flesh (the outward man), and “the flesh (circumcised from the heart – our inner man) is deceitful above all else.” So your flesh can deceive you, and the enemy loves to stir up the flesh. See this note for more details on: The Inner Man vs the Outward Man
The enemy can oftentimes easily overpower the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit, so if you’re saved by faith alone in the gospel (no works added) and you’re feeling condemned, it’s the enemy 100%. Just reboot:
- Take all feelings and emotions out of it.
- Logically progress over the gospel and the indwelling and guarantee of the Holy Spirit which you have believed in.
- Remember how the enemy works to deceive you and understand how they’re attacking you at that moment.
- Relax and find peace and comfort and joy in your salvation.