A short online tool to help young Christians stay firm in their faith when they face doubts and challenges that life brings. It covers the basic foundations of our faith.
Sure Faith covers four key foundational topics. Each topic consists of four sections: introduction, what the Bible says, real life and staying sure.
As Christians, young or older, we can easily have doubts that we really are saved, despite having accepted and believed in Jesus as our Saviour and Lord. Is it really true that I am forgiven, that I'm now saved from God's judgement, that I now have eternal life just by believing and trusting in Jesus's death and resurrection for me? It is not unusual if you think or feel this sometimes.
The best way to counter these doubts is to first go to the Bible. The Bible is God's Word to us.
"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." 2 Tim. 3:16-17
Because God is true and faithful, His Word is true and faithful. Therefore, we can rely on it.
The second thing to do is talk with God about our doubts. You can talk to God about anything, even your doubts. In Mark's gospel (Mark 9:20-27) a father expresses his doubt to Jesus about whether He is able to heal his young son. When Jesus tells him He can, the father replies "Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, 'I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!'" (Mark 9:24)
"And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life." 1 John 5:11-13
This part of the Bible tells us five important truths about being sure we are saved and have eternal life:
Let's review the basic truths of the gospel that led you to trust Jesus for your salvation:
There are lots of different situations where doubts about whether we are saved may arise. You have probably already encountered them. Here are a few you might be familiar with:
It is important to remember that these situations do not take away your salvation, they do not make you less of a child of God. God's Word is true and nothing can undermine that. Once you believe in Jesus He has you and you have Him. No situation, failure or doubt can take that away.
When these situations occur the best thing to do, as soon as you are able, to go back to "What the Bible Says", read it again, then pray and tell God what is happening in your life and how it makes you feel. Ask Him to make those truths you read real for you and to calm your doubts.
Satan uses doubts to attack our faith and try to draw us away from God (Gen.3:1, 1 Pet.5:8). But the Bible tells us to "Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you." James 4:7-8.
This verse tells us there are two parts to staying sure when we have doubts:
Resisting means saying no to satan and remembering what the Bible says.
Here are 2 ways to remember:
Memorise the key verse:
"And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life." 1 John 5:11-13
Listen to a Christian song that affirms this truth:
Come near involves spending time with God, talking with Him, asking for His help and spending regular time with other Christians to encourage each other.
Jesus promised "surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Matt.28:20
Have you wondered sometimes whether God is really listening when you pray? This is not an uncommon thought, especially when we've been a Christian for a short time or even for some years. When we have these thoughts it can be hard to pray and we can feel like giving up.
There may be lots of reasons why we might think God isn't listening to us. For example, we may have grown up in a family or culture where we were not listened to as a child. This kind of experience can shape our expectations that all adults won't listen to us and this is inevitably applied to our relationship with God. But there may be other reasons too.
Whatever the reason we think God may not be listening to us we need to turn to the Bible to re-shape our thinking and expectations. Remember God is true and faithful and His Word is true and faithful. Therefore, we can rely on it.
"Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." Heb.4:14-16
This part of the Bible tells us six important truths about being sure God listens and responds to our prayers:
We know God is listening because we will receive mercy and grace to help us when we approach Him holding on to our faith.
There are lots of different situations when we can have doubts about whether God is listening when we pray. Here is a couple you might be familiar with:
Remember to go back to "What the Bible Says", read it again, then tell God how your situation makes you feel. Ask Him to help you bear these feelings, to keep on trusting Him and thank Him for Jesus.
Memorise the key verse:
"Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." Heb.4:14-16
Listen to a Christian song that affirms this truth:
Spend regular time with other Christians to share and encourage each other to keep on praying.
Jesus promised "surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Matt.28:20
Being a Christian can be hard going sometimes. Learning to follow Jesus faithfully in a world that is indifferent or rejects Him is tough. We all want to fit in with our friends, to be accepted and loved. But sometimes in order to do that we are tempted to make choices that is not Jesus's way of living.
When our friends gossip maliciously about others we want to join in; when our friends expect us to join them doing something we know is wrong, we want to stay quiet and go along with it. Sometimes, it's not our friends who challenge us but our own weaknesses. We see something on-line that arouses our sexual desires, we want to keep clicking; we get offended by what someone says or does, we don't want to forgive them.
These and many more situations in our day to day life can make it hard to keep following Jesus. It is important to understand that being tempted to do the wrong thing is not in itself sinful. The Bible tells us Jesus was tempted, but without sin (Heb. 4:15). It is when we give-in to the temptation and do, think or say what we know is wrong that we sin.
But the good news is that God has not left us on our own to face these struggles. He provides us with what we need.
"No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." 1 Cor. 10:13
This part of the Bible tells us four important truths about being sure we can persevere:
When we find following Jesus hard going, we need to hold onto this promise of God and ask for His help.
Temptations come in all shapes and sizes, when we expect them and when we don't, and change as we go through life. Here are a few you might be familiar with:
The first response is to stop and pray. As you talk with God, recall the promise He made to you in 1 Cor.10:13 and thank Him for His faithfulness. Next, ask Him to show you the way of escape from your temptation. It is important to understand that God's way of escape may not be easy. For example, saying "no" to your friends or leaving a party early on Saturday night may be difficult and not make you popular with your friends. But if you ask God's help to do this, He will give you the strength you need. That's what His promise means.
One of the key things about persevering in following Jesus is that if you regularly respond to temptation by stopping to pray and asking for His help, over time you will build-up spiritual strength. Like regularly doing push ups makes your shoulder muscles stronger, regularly praying and looking for God's escape will draw you closer to God and deepen your knowledge and love of Him that will help you face the next temptation.
Christians are works in progress (see Phil. 1:6) so there will be times, probably many times, when we will give-in to temptation and sin. But as Christians, saved from the penalties of sin because of Jesus's death and resurrection, this does not mean we are separated from God, that we are no longer Christians because we blew it. The topic on "Sure Forgiveness" deals with this in more detail. But for now, just remember God has still got you. Turn to Him and ask for forgiveness and He will forgive you.
Memorise the key verse:
"No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." 1 Cor. 10:13
Listen to a Christian song that affirms this truth:
Spend regular time with other Christians to share and encourage each other to keep on persevering in following Jesus, and seek His help in facing temptation.
"continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose." Phil. 2:12-13
Have you ever done something sinful that you think is so bad God could never forgive you? Nearly every Christian has thought this at some point. It might be a sin that everyone can see, like doing something illegal when you are driving. It might be something that only another person sees, like having sex before marriage. Or it might be something only you know about, like habitually viewing things on-line that you know is wrong.
Whatever it is, it just seems too huge for God to forgive you (or anyone else!). Or perhaps it's not a "big" sin but one you continuously commit, the same sin over and over. Surely, you think, God will one day stop forgiving me and abandon me because I'm hopeless at learning to change.
The good news is, the fact that you recognise your sin, "big" or "small", is actually a sign that God has not abandoned you.
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9
This part of the Bible tells us four important truths about being sure God forgives us:
God sees all sin as the same, there are no big or little sins in God's eyes. All sin is rebelling against God. There are no sins that are too big for God to forgive and there is no limit on how many times He is prepared to forgive us for repeatedly sinning.
However, having been forgiven, we still need to deal with the earthly consequences of our wrong doing. These consequences may be far reaching, such as losing your license for speeding, or more limited, such as being sent off from a sport's game for insulting the ref.
What is important is that when God convicts you of your sin you follow what the Bible says. Psalm 51 is a prayer of confession of King David in the Old Testament after he had committed adultery and murder. It's a good one to use as your own prayer, when you can't find the words, or as a model to follow in seeking forgiveness for your own sins.
Here is a practical way you could put the Bible into practice:
Memorise the key verse:
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9
Listen to a Christian song that affirms this truth:
Spend regular time with other Christians to share and encourage each other to seek God when we sin.
God is faithful and just and will forgive.