This is eternal life that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

                                                                                                                   John 17:3 

Salvation is all about knowing God and Jesus Christ. Today’s passage is a portion of a prayer spoken by Christ and in that prayer He defines eternal life. Knowing God and Jesus Christ is not only about cognitive, intellectual knowledge such as we might gain from studying a book. This kind of knowledge is intimate, personal knowledge, as in having a relationship with someone. It is the kind of knowledge that must be experienced.

To say that we are “saved” means that we have had a spiritual transformation referred to by Jesus as being “born again” (John 3:3). When this happens, we experience the power and presence of the Holy Spirit living within us. Of course our physical, mental, and emotional state can prohibit us from experiencing all that God would desire for us to know but if we belong to Christ by faith, we can truly say that we are saved.

Determining whether or not a person is a believer in Jesus can be assessed by asking five simple questions.

Question #1: Do you believe there is a God?

Knowing God means acknowledging His existence. Consider the following:

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 

                                                                             Genesis 1:1 

From the very beginning of scripture, God’s existence is acknowledged. To deny the existence of God would disqualify someone from proclaiming that they know God.

Question #2: Do you believe that there is only One God? Consider the following:

“I am the Lord, and there is no other; besides Me there is no God.” 

                                                                                                Isaiah 45:5a 

Scripture contains God’s own testimony of Himself. He is God and there is no other besides Him. To declare that there are multiple gods would be to deny God’s own testimony of Himself thus disqualifying someone from proclaiming that the know God.

Question #3: Do you believe that God is the God of the Bible? Consider the following:

“I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.” 

                                                                                                               Matthew 22:32 

As Jesus taught the crowd, He referenced what God had said of Himself back in the Old Testament. God is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. To deny that God is the God of the Bible would disqualify someone from declaring that they know God.

Question #4: Do you believe that Jesus is the Son of God? Consider the following:

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 

                                                                                     Colossians 1:15 

To acknowledge Jesus as the Son of God is to also recognize Him as God incarnate. And to acknowledge Jesus as God, we are declaring the power of the cross for salvation for all who will come by faith. To deny Jesus as the Son of God would disqualify someone from declaring that they know God or Christ.

Question #5: Have you admitted that you are a sinner and that you are in need of a Savior, having asked God to save you on the basis of what Jesus did for you on the cross? Consider the following:

…that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

                                                                                                               Romans 10:9-13 

As we answer each of those questions with an affirmative response, we can be assured that we indeed belong to God and that we have a relationship with Him. Believing in our hearts that God raised Jesus from the dead brings righteousness. Confessing that Jesus is Lord with our mouths brings salvation. It is not enough to just mentally acknowledge Jesus as Lord; we must be “born again” in order to experience His presence and power in our lives. Then and only then can we declare that we know God and Jesus Christ. 

To put on the helmet of salvation means:

1. Knowing that we are saved
2. Having an intimate and personal relationship with Jesus