What to Do When You Doubt Your Salvation
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Spiritual growth places us in uncomfortable territory. God leads us in ways that challenge us to increase our faith and discipline. As a result, we become aware of our own weakness and inability. God means to humble us, but our own pride and the Devil get involved to cause us to question the process or even our own salvation.
In another common example, we begin to stray or fall into sin. The Spirit begins to convict us, calling us back to himself and the path of discipleship, but again, our human nature and Satan lie to us, interpreting God’s convictions as condemnation.
From these reasons and more, we experience doubt, even over our own salvation. What can we do when we encounter such doubt?
Remember, Doubt Is Human
Every Christian struggles with doubt at some point. Even great biblical figures experienced it. John the Baptist boldly declared Jesus as the Lamb of God at one time. Later, while in prison and persecuted by Herod, the same John sent messengers from prison to Christ and asked, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?” (Luke 7:19). John had baptized Jesus and gave testimony to God’s plan. His doubt didn’t necessarily mean he lost faith, only that he struggled within his current circumstances and asked questions.
Jesus didn’t rebuke the messengers or his cousin. God understands our human nature wrestles with doubt and questions. He doesn’t expect perfect faith all the time. If doubt were a sign of lost salvation, most believers in the Scripture and through history would be lost.
Further, God invites questions. Jesus never turned away an honest seeker, either. He asked and allowed questions during his teachings, an incredibly interactive model. The Bible is full of people who wrestled with God, in every way, and instead of rejecting them, he met them there. The father of a demon-possessed boy in Mark 9 said, “I believe; help my unbelief!” Jesus didn’t reject him but answered his request. None of our questions are too big or small for God. He isn’t surprised or intimidated by our struggles. Faith doesn’t mean the absence of struggle but trusting God through it.
Don’t Let the Devil Condemn You
One of the Devil’s favorite strategies is turning our doubt into condemnation. He lies to us, “If you were really saved, you wouldn’t do this thing or question God.” Scripture tells us, “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). God convicts and calls to repent, to avoid later condemnation. The Devil speaks a hopeless word, condemning us to get us to give up on God.
If we doubt our salvation, we probably haven’t lost it. Would someone spiritually dead care? A person completely separated from Christ feels no urgency to seek him.
The possibility exists that we aren’t truly saved, but if we are concerned, the Holy Spirit draws us to repent and be saved. If we simply have doubt, the solution remains the same: turn to God and hear from him. Either way, instead of fearing doubt, use it as a reason to press into God. Let him tell you what to do. The one who gave his Son eagerly wants to redeem and restore us.
Reconnect with God
Doubt tempts us to seek isolation. When we question our salvation, we might withdraw and think we’re alone in the struggle. But instead of pulling away from God, the best thing to do is seek his face. As Job wrestled through his tragic and traumatic situation, he continually cried out to God for a personal revelation and direct communication. Through Christ, the veil has been torn, and we have such access freely today.
First, take our doubt to God in prayer. He calls us to cast our cares on him (1 Peter 5:7) and pour our hearts out to him (Psalm 62:8). This includes our doubts and questions as he faithfully meets us there. Pray honestly. He already knows our hearts and often waits for us to willingly open up to him and ask for his help. He generously gives wisdom to those who ask without any discrimination (James 1:5).
God continually speaks to us, and we must set aside time in prayer and stillness to hear and allow him to comfort and correct us, replacing the lies with his life-giving truth.
Second, another powerful way to hear God is through praise and worship. When we praise him, our attention changes from ourselves to his person. Praise places us in the proper position to receive more truth and revelation. We remind ourselves of who he is, his love for us, and all he’s done.
In Acts 16, the apostle Paul and his companion Silas, had been beaten and imprisoned. In chains, they turned their attention to singing hymns, praising God. The prison soon shook, their chains fell off, and the doors miraculously opened. Praise invites and welcomes God’s presence and communicates our submission to his ways and will.
When we isolate ourselves from God and others, we follow the Devil’s plan, not God’s. Faith prays and praises even during doubt, refocusing us on the one who begins and finishes our salvation.
Remember the Author and Finisher of Faith
Jesus is both the source and culmination of salvation. It begins and ends with him alone, not with our feelings or performance. During times of doubt, we tend to focus on our own weakness and insufficiency. But we could never save ourselves anyway, and in doubt, we must trust his complete work.
Christ alone is the foundation of our faith. He saves, secures, and sustains us. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). Our salvation doesn’t depend upon how well we perform, how strong our faith feels, or a lack of struggle. It depends entirely on Christ, and his work is finished.
When we doubt our salvation, we ask ourselves, “Did I place my faith in the Person of Jesus? Did I repent, deny myself, and turn to him?” In this, our salvation is secure because he promises to hold onto us. As Jesus said, “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out” (John 6:37). When we repent and turn to him, he will never reject us.
To be saved by grace means it is based on God’s ability, not ours. And this is a good thing. Our salvation doesn’t happen due to our good behavior or what we can earn; if so, the glory would be ours, not God’s, and he alone is due glory. Salvation comes through faith, also a gift, believing in the words and promises of God more than our situation.
Paul writes in Titus 3:5, “He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy.” When we doubt our salvation, we preach this truth to ourselves. God’s mercy and grace don’t fade or change. Even when we fall, his mercy triumphs over judgment (James 2:13).
Jesus is the alpha and omega, the beginning and end (Revelation 22:13). Resting in Christ means trusting his promise more than our feelings. Feelings and situations change, but God and his Word don’t. His sacrifice and grace is sufficient, and his love is unshakable.
Reconnect with Your Faith Community
One way we reconnect with God and truth is through the Body of Christ. God is a community, a family within himself — Father, Son, Holy Spirit. He didn’t design Christianity as a solo endeavor. We need one another.
Just as doubt isolates us from God, it does the same with the faith community. When we struggle with uncertainty regarding our salvation, isolating from others will make it worse. In fact, rejecting the wisdom of the saints will lead to more doubt and anxiety.
From the beginning, God created us for community to encourage and support each other in faith. God intended the Church as a body, where every member plays a role in strengthening the whole. Paul writes in Romans 12:5, “So in Christ, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” Our faith is both individual and communal. God gave us gifts to bless each other, especially when our doubt shakes us.
The early church lived this out. “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer” (Acts 2:42). The early Christians didn’t meet once a week but daily, living in community while learning and praying together. The author of Hebrews further explores this. “Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called ‘today,’ that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin” (Hebrews 3:12-13).
This passage clearly reveals the way to avoid developing a heart of unbelief: encourage each other daily so our hearts aren’t hardened by sin and isolation.
If we’re wrestling with doubt, one of the best things we can do is reconnect with other mature, believing saints. We should find someone in our faith community we trust, like a pastor or mentor, and ask them questions. Hopefully, we’ve made the investments needed to have these relationships, but even if we’ve been remiss with this, we can reach out to leaders we respect. A simple, loving conversation with another believer can bring clarity. As we’ve noted, every believer deals with doubt and struggle, and through community, a mature believer will encourage us from their similar experience, relating to us without judgment.
Proverbs 11:4 says, “Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.” Wise counsel from fellow believers helps us see our doubts in light of God’s character, love, and truth rather than our limited vision.
Reconnecting with our faith community strengthens our foundation. Worshipping together, studying Scripture, and sharing life with other disciples of Jesus reminds us we aren’t alone in walking the narrow way.
When doubting our salvation, take these humble steps. Recognize God’s conviction and reject condemnation. Reconnect with the Father through the Spirit and allow him to correct and encourage us. Trust in Jesus’ finished salvation work. And make time for the church to receive their gifts and edification.
Peace.
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