Part One
Each of us has a case pending in the courts of heaven's temple before the awful, great white throne of Jehovah. The ledger books of heaven bear the record of the good and evil deeds done. Traditionally Adventists have been afraid of the Judgment truth, this is not indicative of a full salvation. How can we tell if we are saved? It is to the testimony of Scripture and the Spirit of Prophecy we must go to see what is required of a regenerated Christian. See 1T 163.
The people of God have not known a full assurance and acceptance with God. Our assurance should be bright and clear. See Ev, p 630-631. It would carry with such an experience, cheerfulness, joy and confidence in our full acceptance with God. The short answer is if you don't know where you stand, if you're not sure your saved, then it's more than likely you are lost.
Too many have only a vague idea; but this is a life and death matter to be settled for time and eternity. “A supposed hope, and nothing more, will prove your ruin.” See 1T 163-164. We must not let anything distract us from the most important question we must ask ourselves. "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" Do I have an inheritance on high?
The quest for certainty in our salvation is indispensable to the Christians walk; it is categorical in faith and religion. The Apostle Paul knew the certainty of his position and standing before God. He wrote, "I know in whom I have believed." 2 Tim 1:12. The messenger of the Lord, Ellen White, called for seekers for the heavenly treasure and the crown of eternal life to determine the state of their souls by self-examination, a Scriptural injunction. See 2 Cor 13:5. We are to "determine the worst of our case."
One thing that perplexed me was that Sister Ellen White suggested that the righteous are "unconscious of their goodness and piety." How could this be? I asked. Sister White also said that the righteous should keep a humble attitude about being saved. The disciple Peter denied his Lord because, she writes in Desire of Ages, he presumed that he was saved. See DA p 673.
The trumpet of the Lord must give a certain sound I thought, there must be signs of our acceptance with God, ways we can tell if we are saved. I determined to find them out by experiential Christianity. I determined that when I passed from death unto life in Christ, with Christ in me.
Part Two
Sign One. Christ asks of a disciple, "my son, give me your heart." John Wesley, that great 18th century Methodist preacher of righteousness, wrote of "the strangely warmed heart". This occurs when a person empties the soul temple of idols and sins that keep Christ out of the lukewarm heart. For he says in Rev 3:20, "I stand at the door and knock". Christ is at the door of the lukewarm, at the heart of the halfhearted professor of Christ. This is the first sign of Christ's entry into the heart of those that have the first love for Christ. This is a foremost sign of a saving relationship with Christ.
The Lord of Life does not enter the lukewarm heart until sin is consented to be willed out of the life. See 1 SM p 325. Too many have sins piled up at the door of their soul. See 5T, p 163; GW, p 287; DA, p 669-670. “They seek to attach themselves to Christ without first detaching from their idols.” The messenger of the Lord writes, “I saw that many have so much rubbish piled up at the door of their heart that they cannot get the door open…All this rubbish must be taken away, and then they can open the door and welcome the Saviour in.” 1T, p 143.
What? Christ is not in the heart of the lukewarm? No! He is pictured as being outside, knocking; seeking entrance. He knocks at the hearts door in a well-known picture, the door has no handle, and only the one inside can open the door. The Lord of Glory does not consent to enter the lukewarm heart; he will not co-reign with Satan. How could He?
Sign Two. A sense of spiritual security that I had never known came to me after I made a grand search for God with all my heart; all I had known was the dread of being lost. God does not give carnal blanket security to the sinner, but a comfort from the Shepherd of the soul. This experience came as a consequence of victory over idols and sins that kept Jesus out all my Christian life, a period of over 30 years of seeking for salvation assurance. I felt secure in my Father's hand; nothing could pluck me from His hand. I felt I had an anchor to my soul. It was based on an experience in the things of God. I knew in whom I had believed. Christ "in me the hope of glory." I felt secured to Him.
