Because christianity is a counterfeit of the true faith, it can be very difficult to break through its false doctrines of salvation with those who are lost within it. When trying to share the truths of the Holy Spirit with folks who believe very strongly they are already saved, there is a pivotal question that must be asked: why do you believe you are saved?
Now, because of christianity’s false teachings, the answers that most christians will give usually fall into two categories: things they have done, and things they have read (or heard from others). It is not uncommon, when dealing with someone who has a long history in christianity, to be given a list of experiences within the “church.”
Some will cite things such as the years they have spent teaching others, or a specific event at which they “went forward and got saved” (which includes countless christianese euphemisms, such as “gave my life to Christ,” “asked forgiveness for all my sins,” “asked Christ into my heart,” etc., etc., etc.), and, usually, when dealing with the more seasoned christians, it might be the years spent in seminary, or serving as a pastor or preacher that will be proudly cited (usually to signal that they are very knowledgeable in doctrinal matters).
The one thing that must be recognized with all such claims is that they merely represent things that the christian himself has done. BUT, there is no human who has the power or authority to make himself saved, which is what all such claims are essentially asserting (“all these things I have done prove I am saved”).
The other general false belief of many christians is that specific verses in scripture prove they have been saved. So, typically, as a conversation will progress, christians will start citing passages of scripture they claim prove their salvation.
Based on that logic, would it then be fair to conclude that everyone who has a bible, or who cites specific passages of scripture ABOUT salvation are saved? Satan and his demons believe the scriptures. What about the multitudes of people who lived before the advent of the printing press in the 15th century?
During the centuries preceding that, common people did not have books, for books were handwritten, were very expensive, and only the very elite possessed them. The “church” controlled the doctrinal narrative, and history shows us just how politically evil and corrupt the “church” has been.
So, how did Yah’s children know they were His children during that period of history? They didn’t have bibles, and most couldn’t read or write anyway. If your bible provides the proof of your salvation, then what proof did believers have during those centuries?
Scripture instructs Yah’s children about the doctrines of salvation, but it cannot individually confirm to anyone that he is saved. The words of scripture do not have that power or authority, for they are just words. They are not living. It is the Holy Spirit who is the power behind those words, for He is alive, and He is who Hebrews 4:12 speaks of. Without Him, the words themselves could be any book.
There is not a single verse in scripture that can tell YOU that YOU have been born again. So, citing verses as evidence you have been saved is just as invalid as claiming that lifelong experiences within christianity prove one’s salvation.
Biology books provide instruction into the details of human reproduction. They instruct us about how human life is conceived and propagated. But, to claim that a passage of scripture proves that one is born again is to claim that a biology book can literally confirm that a woman is pregnant. That is not the purpose of a biology book, and no book has that ability.
Moreover, those who claim that reading scripture can result in someone being saved is to claim that reading a biology book can literally get a girl pregnant. Just as humans propagate human life, those with the Holy Spirit propagate spiritual life. That is the spiritual real substance of the physical foreshadow of circumcision. Those whose hearts are circumcised reproduce others spiritually.
Because christianity teaches a counterfeit of salvation that is devoid of the Holy Spirit’s role and authority in it, it was necessary for another authority to be contrived, so man became the authority that declares his own salvation (“going forward and getting saved”), and scripture became christianity’s confirmation, which is outside its actual purpose and ability.
Christian salvation, which largely teaches that man decides to be saved, is a false salvation, because salvation is given only by the authority of the Father, in His time and at His direction, and the Holy Spirit declares the confirmation of it to the believer (Romans 8:16).
For more information: Circumcision and Spiritual Reproduction