I struggle feeling saved, how can I know for sure I am a Christian?

I have never met a Christian who doesn’t at times struggle with this question, or struggle with faith. If you are sincere in your devotion to anything, you will at times struggle with it. That doesn’t make you throw it away, or quit. Struggling  doesn’t make you faithless,it makes you human. There is no perfect human, and this means at times you will struggle. So instead of thinking  of this a faithless question, or a “negative view of your own walk with Christ”,  I think dealing with this question strengthens your faith. A famous pastor once said, “A faith that hasn’t been tested, can’t be trusted.” I wholeheartedly agree.  When a steel sword is tempered, it grows stronger, and becomes a more powerful weapon. The same goes for faith, that is tempered in the trust that comes through testing. So whether you are a pastor, a new believer, or have been a Christian for many years, a good self-examination is always beneficial, especially if you have ever struggled with this question.To help a bit, lets look at what the bible says a “Christian” is.

The word Christian is used three times in New Testament (Acts 11:26; Acts 26:28; 1 Peter 4:16). Followers of Jesus Christ were first called “Christians” in Antioch (Acts 11:26) because they resembled the lifestyle and teachings of Christ. The word “christian” actually was used as a derogatory term by the unsaved people of Antioch to make fun of followers of Christ. it means “little Christs”. The name stuck.

The bible defines a true Christian as  a person who has put his or her faith and trust in redemption found in Jesus Christ. This means that their trust, dependency, and relationship with God isn’t based on church attendance, good works, or knowledge of the Bible. It doesn’t depend the “good things” that a person might try to do to please God,or a moral lifestyle, but it depends solely on faith in the shed blood of Christ on the cross as a payment and satisfaction for sins, (which everyone has committed.) It means depending solely on that payment, and then trusting that Jesus rose from the dead, declaring victory over death to forever intercede for us (that means speak to God the Father on our behalf). It means that God hears and answers our prayers, dwells among us, and has a relationship with us through Christ, and Christ alone as he intercedes for those who trust in Him. This then defines a Christian, or a follower of Christ:

It means that because of your faith, God has come to dwell within you, by the person of the Holy Spirit, and you are a “new creation.”

A true Christian is indeed a child of God, a part of God’s true family, and one who has been given new life in Christ. The mark of a true Christian is love for others and obedience to God’s Word, because God has come to live within that person, and made him / her new. A Christian lives in a state of perpetual trust in Christ, and sometimes wavers, or struggles, but returns to faith in Christ alone, being strengthened solely because it is God living in that Christian that strengthens them and their faith, not the things they do or what they know. That is called grace.

Someone who may call themselves a Christian but might not be a Christian, will usually consistently struggle with faith, but their confidence comes from the things they do, what they know, or how they define such things, rather than in the person of Christ. That’s not grace.

This is how you know that you are saved, and the confidence you have of salvation:

When you trust in Christ for your salvation, your life, and your relationship with God.

Have you placed your trust fully on Christ alone, or is your “Christian” life a trust in something other than Christ, perhaps even things that seem good, like a moral lifestyle, church attendance, or good deeds?

If you recognize that you have trusted in something other than Christ, then you can put your faith in Him right now. This is how you can know that you are saved, and a Christian.