[Squidpup]

"How would you know you were forgiven? How would you know God forgot your sins?"

So you do doubt my salvation, just because I don't attend a Catholic church?

My answer - 2 Cor 13:5 - "Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you-- unless indeed you fail the test?"

Do you fail this test?

Here is an excellent resource regarding salvation:

...snip...

Conclusion

If you're lacking assurance--if you're plagued withdoubts and have lost your joy, become useless in Christian service, empty in worship, cold in praise, passionless in prayer, and vulnerable to false teachers--whatever the problem, know there is a cure: obeying God's Word in the power of the Spirit.

Let's take the first step toward doing that by applying an ancient technique--a question-and-answer process known as a catechism--to help us think through what God's Word teaches about assurance. The Greek word katacheo means "to echo back." So echo back God's truth as you slowly and thoughtfully read the following:

■Question: What is the essential duty a person has in this world? Consummating a saving relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, which is to recognize His work on the cross and His resurrection from the dead as the satisfying atonement for sin, and to walk in accordance with that relationship.

■Question: Don't all members of the church have a saving relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ? No, only those who are truly saved.

■Question: How can I be certain I have that saving relationship? The Lord will have done in your soul His own sovereign will--that of calling you to Himself through a work of conviction and humiliation so you will have discovered your sin and misery, and, being so seriously agitated and threatened by it, you long for the Savior.

■Question: How can I know if I've made sufficient discovery and admission of my sin? By taking salvation to your heart above any other pursuit in life. It will make Christ, your Redeemer, very precious to your soul. It will make you fear sin, repent, and seek to be saved on God's terms.

■Question: What's another way of discerning a saving relationship to Christ? A strong and serious affection that reaches toward Christ as He is progressively revealed to you in the gospel. Such love is the product of saving belief.

■Question: Are there other marks of a relationship with Christ? You are truly saved when you have been made a whole new person, graciously changed and renewed. That is best evidenced by a desire to shun sin and pattern your life in obedience toward God's righteous demands.

■Question: What if I find sin prevailing over me? Although every sin deserves eternal vengeance, if you regularly confess your sins with unhypocritical repentance and shame before God--fleeing to Christ for forgiveness for all known and unknown iniquities--He will grant you mercy and pardon because you stand in grace, and your salvation is forever secure.

■Question: What if my sins are serious and repeated? Whatever they are, Jesus Christ has paid the price for them so that if you sincerely and earnestly have turned to Him in repentant faith, you will never enter into condemnation. Moreover, His gracious provision for those who believe includes power to overcome sin and live righteously.

■Question: Is faith alone the requirement for salvation? Yes, it is the only basis upon which God offers peace and pardon to mankind. However, faith--if it is genuine--will not be alone in the soul, but will always be accompanied by true repentance and an eager desire to conform to God's will and way.

■Question: How can I be sure I've settled my eternal destiny with the Lord? Express with your mouth to God what the Holy Spirit through Scripture has led you to believe in your heart.

■Question: What are the results of a relationship with Christ? Union and communion with God here, and blessed fellowship and glory hereafter.

■Question: How can I come to full assurance that I have such a relationship? By affirming the promises of God as revealed in Scripture by the internal witness of the Spirit, and by manifesting real and righteous fruit born out of love for the Person of Christ and the desire to bring Him honor and glory.

Don't continue to live with doubts about your eternal salvation. Rather, live with the blessed assurance God wants you to enjoy as His child.

http://www.gty.org/resources/Positions/P17/A-Believers-Assurance-A-Practical-Guide-to-Victory-over-Doubt

[Salvation]

Your salvation is your business.

I just know that my sins are forgiven and forgotten because God is the one who forgives them.

 

1449 The formula of absolution used in the Latin Church expresses the essential elements of this sacrament: the Father of mercies is the source of all forgiveness. He effects the reconciliation of sinners through the Passover of his Son and the gift of his Spirit, through the prayer and ministry of the Church:

God, the Father of mercies,
through the death and the resurrection of his Son
has reconciled the world to himself
and sent the Holy Spirit among us
for the forgiveness of sins;
through the ministry of the Church
may God give you pardon and peace,
and I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

It is sad that many are not interested in delving into the grace provided by the Sacrament of Reconciliation/Penance.