GLEANINGS FROM THE WORD Encountering an extraordinary God in ordinary life Issue # 178 June 24, 2001 HOW TO KNOW   This morning’s Gleanings is a short Bible commentary/study, taken from a reply I sent to a reader.  One of the most frequent questions I get from readers is how to know they are saved. They write because they don’t feel saved. I know that feeling from the past when I questioned my own salvation. It is a frightening place to be. We know from the Scriptures that God is love. We also know that He is a holy God, whose wrath will be faced by sinners. In love He shows mercy, in wrath He shows justice. Justice and mercy are opposites. They are completely incompatable. For there to be justice, you must get what you deserve, good or bad. For there to be mercy, you get what you don’t deserve. So far, I probably haven’t told you anything new, but bear with me as I lay the groundwork. We know the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23 NIV). Accordingly since all have sinned, (Romans 3:23 NIV) we are all under the sentence of death. Justice calls for this penalty to be paid. Not to pay would be a gross miscarriage of justice. To assist, God in His mercy sent Jesus as our sacrifice (John 3:16). Justice has now been carried out, because the penalty has been paid. The record books show : Guilty of sin - penalty of death - PAID IN FULL. Christians get caught up in question of our salvation because we don’t feel saved when we sin repeatedly. We know that with mercy there is a limit. Since it is what we don’t deserve, we fear it can be withdrawn from us at any time. We feel that if we go before God too often with the same sin, He will stop forgiving us. The thing we don’t realize is that we are saved by both His justice and His mercy. We appeal to His mercy and are saved. Yet it is by His justice that we stay saved. 1 John 1:9 (NIV) says:  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. He is faithful and just. If He is just, He will not allow us to pay again a penalty that has already been paid in full. His mercy paid the price in Jesus and His just nature assures we don’t have to pay it again. Those two facets of God’s character guarantee that once we have accepted Him we are saved. We don’t need to always “FEEL” that way, because in His justice, He promises that we ARE SAVED. Romans 10:9-13 (NIV) says That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.  As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame." For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile--the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."   If you have done this, you are saved. It is that simple.   Until next time, may you come to know and love the God of mercy and justice more and more. God bless. Kevin ©  2001 K.F. "Kevin" Corbin All Rights Reserved