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Doubting my salvation


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I feel scared and condemned because I've never felt joy in God. I have no feeling of affection for Him! I know that joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit, so the fact that I don't have it terrifies me. I know that Christians should fight for their joy, but how can one fight for their joy if they're no longer even sure they're a Christian? It feels like a huge weight has been added to my already-heavy shoulders, and I'm stuck in a loop: I can't have assurance because I don't have joy, and I can't have joy because I don't have assurance.Is there any hope for me?

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2 hours ago, Vermillion said:

I feel scared and condemned because I've never felt joy in God. I have no feeling of affection for Him! I know that joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit, so the fact that I don't have it terrifies me. I know that Christians should fight for their joy, but how can one fight for their joy if they're no longer even sure they're a Christian? It feels like a huge weight has been added to my already-heavy shoulders, and I'm stuck in a loop: I can't have assurance because I don't have joy, and I can't have joy because I don't have assurance.Is there any hope for me?

Hi,

I risk sharing my  own thoughts. May they be at least some fodder for thought to either embrace or to work against  so that you may  find steadiness of heart, and comfort in Christ Jesus for your self and do what brings  glory to God..

If you are aware of God, yet feel you are not of God you do have every reason to be terrified.

Starting there, may I suggest praying to God directly about your sense of terror of Him? Ask of God, please  show me or assure me of the way to You. That way is of course to be found in our Lord and savior Jesus, by way of the comforter the Holy Spirit.

It is not so much a fruit of the Holy Spirit that you might first seek, but instead Jesus who comes to you via the Holy Spirit's calling specifically to you, and your response of turning about from sin against God to clinging to your willing servitude to Him. Your desire might become the honoring of the sacrifice made  by Jesus, who is God, for you- Jesus died for you (and me) so that each of us might have eternal life with Him. Eternal life with Him is a certainty for all that  hear and heed the specific call to them by the Holy Spirit.

That heeding of the call by the Holy Spirit for you ( and me ) to turn about, to repentance, will not change the burdens of life, it may even increase them. God promises eternal life to come, with him, and not a easy load so much as  an ability to carry that load. For which you then may count for joy, in that you can carry it, being a saint in Christ that has joy for sure  in the ability to be a witness for Christ, by taking on even more of a load and counting even that as joy.

Each of us have need of trying to  do all things to the glory of God. No matter what the things are, devoting ourselves to doing them in a mannner that pleases God, for that is joy in the saints of Christ Jesus.

I suggest that getting one's mind set on pleasing God by  doing all things for and to His glory will bring every saint in Christ Jesus joy.  The reward for that  is not a joy of having no burdens on earth, but instead is the certainty of eternal life to come with Him.

Saints must change what pleases them, so that each may have joy. Give burdens even heavy ones no victory.  Ask God for the strength to carry them and to do so in a manner that brings glory to Him. And there is to be found joy.

The great testimonies that move many to know Christ are not testimonies of wealth gained and easy times, but instead in the amazing ability of some to carry the loads, and to do so  praising our Lord Jesus as they are carried.

May God grant each of us first peace, and then may that peace be the pathway to deep joy within each of us.

 

Just my own conclusions based upon my own experiences and on my understanding of God's word. If  they provide some fodder for your own study and prayer, and whether you reach similar conclusion or a very different one, I do pray  you might soon find assurance in our Lord Jesus. For there is the joy. The fruit is a result that has grown on the tree of labor as a bond-servant of our Lord Jesus.

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Are you new to believing in The Lord?

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On 3/4/2018 at 6:21 AM, Adstar said:

Being a Christian is about Who you believe and in What you trust...

It is not about how you feel..

If people base their assurance of salvation on their own feelings their assurance of salvation will all over the place... 

Stand on the Rock.. Not on yourself..

Posting in agreement, as I am reminded by the post that, from the record of Job perhaps the oldest written record, through Abram, and especially King David, and Paul of Taurus, all those accounts, there is example after example of praise to God and of joy found and given for guidance in the hardest of human trials. God has selected their example as  inspired by Him the consistent message to all that come to hear, read, pray, and heed His word the Bible, and live the triumph of His grace and mercy upon all that are saved to eternal life with Him.

Is not the 23rd Psalm the most commonly known, and perhaps also the most powerful of praise that encapsulates joy, real joy, in the face of very serious and harsh times?  And Paul, the apostle out of time, has his declaration too. He included in his writing to Timothy the follwing praise as he recounted his own walk:

------

 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God according to the promise of the life that is in Christ Jesus,

"To Timothy, my beloved child:

Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

Guard the Deposit Entrusted to You

 I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day.  As I remember your tears, I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy.  I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well.  For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands,  for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.

 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God,  who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel,  for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher,  which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me. Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.  By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you."....

-----

We seek not joy in this world, not as the world counts joy, not riches and praises to us in this time in the body of corruptible flesh; but we stand our post as servants of Christ Jesus, doing all that we do  to the glory of God. In that stand is the "tree" that grows the fruit of joy, that harkens us to know and fear righteous God, for God is a fearsome and a zealous God who will not have us to cherish anything as being higher than the security He has provided to each of us by the blood sacrifice made by His son Jesus, that we may have eternal life too. And there is my joy to be found, at the cross where Jesus personally paid the price of my sin that I, and all that turn to Jesus as Lord God and savior, may be seen as perfect and as acceptable to God the Father. 

 

The question was asked, "I can't have assurance because I don't have joy, and I can't have joy because I don't have assurance.Is there any hope for me?"

Not true at all is my answer. Not true at all. "If" what may be wrong is the definition of joy itself. The seeking of the world's joys, of grand prosperity and the gain of things cherished in this world is not  the joy of knowing God. The joy  of God for us is in His seeing us as perfect and acceptable in His sight. That joy comes through the work  and sacrifice of Jesus alone. It is both extremely complex beyond the finest scholars total understandings, yet so simple  that  one must accept  it as a child is capable of accepting it- Just accept the gospel, the good news, Jesus  is Lord! In Him is our salvation, and by Him is our eternal life with Him, the Holy Spirit, and God the Father, the triune God, forever forward in eternity. evidence of that eternally lasting joy is found in the heart and soul, and evidenced outwardly in the fleshly body  by the determined hanging on to the message of salvation that is the good news, and the attempt to do all that is done, in a manner that  brings glory to God. All that our lives may be a testimony so that yet others may  see hear and turn about as they are called specifically by the Holy Spirit to their repentance.

The goal  is to share the gospel of Jesus that many may be found mature in Christ Jesus. In that is joy that even the hosts of heaven rejoice.

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9 hours ago, Vermillion said:

I feel scared and condemned because I've never felt joy in God. I have no feeling of affection for Him! I know that joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit, so the fact that I don't have it terrifies me. I know that Christians should fight for their joy, but how can one fight for their joy if they're no longer even sure they're a Christian? It feels like a huge weight has been added to my already-heavy shoulders, and I'm stuck in a loop: I can't have assurance because I don't have joy, and I can't have joy because I don't have assurance.Is there any hope for me?

I am going to ask you a few questions .   Something has stole your joy and its an error that has done this .   deception , error .

No believer has joy if they in error ,  it wont happen.    watch out for who you are keeping company with .    Being unequally yoked will destroy you.

Sin is a monster .   So start over in just the bible , don't heed contrary doctrine ,  pray seek and knock on the door .

Your joy can and will be restored,  you have to start afresh in Him , begin anew ,  pray and as I said watch out for who you keep company with

or who you taking advice from .     Wrong concepts will eat at you and your joy will be gone .    Just start over .  

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6 hours ago, enoob57 said:

Are you new to believing in The Lord?

Yes, I am.

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17 hours ago, Vermillion said:

I feel scared and condemned because I've never felt joy in God. I have no feeling of affection for Him! I know that joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit, so the fact that I don't have it terrifies me. I know that Christians should fight for their joy, but how can one fight for their joy if they're no longer even sure they're a Christian? It feels like a huge weight has been added to my already-heavy shoulders, and I'm stuck in a loop: I can't have assurance because I don't have joy, and I can't have joy because I don't have assurance.Is there any hope for me?

 

I must tell you something. If you have never felt the joy of the Lord, that is because you were never been born again. YES the fruit of the Spirit is peace and joy. 

Christians do not have to fight for their joy. People who are serious about turning away from their sins, who turn to God for forgiveness by believing in the Lord Jesus Christ and His redemptive work on the cross, will have the Holy Spirit. That is if they are really serious about following the Lord Jesus. Jesus said those who come to Him He will never cast out. So if you go to Him, He will never turn you away.

Is there any sin you have not repented of? That is a good question to ask yourself. We have to surrender EVERYTHING to Jesus. He must be first in every area of your life. He is not added to our life. He IS our life. 

In Him is life. 

You need to go to Jesus Christ, you need to SEEK UNTIL you find Him. You have to HEAR His voice. You have to get something back from Him, He speaks. Cry out to Him.

Also remember it is not about us, it is about Him. It is not about you having your joy and assurance, it is about you being His servant, a servant of Righteousness. Hope this helps.

May the Lord bless you.!

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4 hours ago, Vermillion said:

Yes, I am.

All that you were and all that surrounds you is now in effort to take that belief away... your only recourse is to immerse yourself in the Scriptures and to try an do what you glean out of them... Security of your salvation comes with eating and drinking of His Word and the doing of it. This is called sanctification and it is becoming like Jesus. The Holy Spirit is, (if in your heart you have cried out to Jesus to save you), within you and you will require s/Spiritual growth through the process I spoke about above.  Right now you are here
 

Phil 2:12-15
12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
14 Do all things without murmurings and disputings:
15 That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;
KJV

Assurance comes with growth and will come the more quickly with the more you eat drink and do the Scriptures... You have my prayers... Love, Steven

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Welcome to the Worthy  forum, Vermillion. If you have been born again, I Welcome to you as my sister in Christ.
A sure sign you have joined the army of God is to be harassed by the enemy. Take heart, be of good courage,  and read scripture. If you shop ebay, or Christian book store, find a book called "The Book of Bible Promises" (IOOO verses) Cheap. I have several laying all around the house and my shop. It is sorted by subject, so you can look up just what concerns you quickly. Renewing your mind, changing your thinking, results from hiding God's word in your heart. Here's one of my favorites, below, and be sure and ask all the questions you want.

Php 4:8-9  Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.  Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.

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