John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
John 3:16 excellently sums up the matter of salvation for fallen man. Because of sin, our final destination is Hell, and then the Lake of Fire. There is no escape from either place, according to the Bible.
Rather than just letting the human race end up in Hell, God loved the human race and wanted to save us. In order to do so, He sent His Son – Jesus Christ, to pay a price that we are unable to. Because God decreed that the “wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23), a Substitute must physically die to redeem the living.
It is very important to know that God never makes a mistake. He never would have sent His Son to suffer the things He did for us if there were another way of salvation. If there were, God would have known about it. If we were to be spared the punishment we deserve for our sin – death – which means separation from God, there must be death for His Son.
Note that John 3:16 says that merely by believing on Christ and what He did for you and me, we will be saved from Hell and the Lake of Fire. The word “believe” carries the idea that you also need to repent. When you believe that a fire is hot, you will avoid hot things. It affects your actions. In a similar way, if you truly believe that sin is sending you to Hell, you will want to avoid sin and tell God you are sorry for committing sin. It is called repentance, which means changing your mind about sin.
Then ask Christ to forgive you, save you, and come into your heart as Boss (“Lord”) of your life. He does all the rest. Notice what He gives to those who believe – “everlasting life.”
Can someone know that they are saved? Absolutely. I John 5:12 says it all: “He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.”
Salvation is based on what He has done for you, not on what you do for Him. We have no part in it except to receive the gift of salvation by faith – which is Christ. Have you trusted Him to be your Savior?