“What are some of the signs of genuine saving faith?”……This is one of the most important questions in the Christian life. Many believers doubt their salvation because they don't see signs of genuine faith in their lives. There are those who say we should never doubt our decision to follow Christ, but the Bible encourages us to examine ourselves to see if we are truly "in the faith"

2 Corinthians 13:5

Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you[a]; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith.

Thankfully, God has given us ample instruction for how we can know for sure that we have eternal life. The first epistle of John was actually written for that purpose,

1 John 5:13

I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life.

…There are a series of tests in 1 John that we can use to examine ourselves and our faith. As we look at them, remember that no one will perfectly fulfill all of them all the time, but they should reveal a consistent trend that characterizes our lives as we grow in grace.……1. Do you enjoy having fellowship with Christ and His redeemed people?

1 John 1:3We proclaim to you what we ourselves have actually seen and heard so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.…2. Would people say you walk in the light, or walk in the darkness?

1 John 1:6-7So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth.7 But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.…3. Do you admit and confess your sin?

1 John 1:8If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth.…4. Are you obedient to God’s Word?

1 John 2:3-5And we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments. If someone claims, "I know God," but doesn't obey God's commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth.But those who obey God's word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him.…5. Does your life indicate you love God rather than the world?

1 John 2:15Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you.…6. Is your life characterized by “doing what is right”?

1 John 2:29Since we know that Christ is righteous, we also know that all who do what is right are God's children.

7. Do you seek to maintain a pure life?

1 John 3:3And all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as he is pure.

8. Do you see a decreasing pattern of sin in your life?

1 John 3:5-6And you know that Jesus came to take away our sins, and there is no sin in him.Anyone who continues to live in him will not sin. But anyone who keeps on sinning does not know him or understand who he is. [Note: this refers to not continuing in sin as a way of life, not a total absence of sin.]…9. Do you demonstrate love for other Christians?

1 John 3:14 If we love our Christian brothers and sisters,[a] it proves that we have passed from death to life. But a person who has no love is still dead.

10. Do you “walk the walk,” versus just “talking the talk”?

1 John 3:18-19Dear children, let's not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God.…11. Do you maintain a clear conscience?

1 John 3:21Dear friends, if we don't feel guilty, we can come to God with bold confidence.…12. Do you experience victory in your Christian walk?

1 John 5:4For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith.

…If you are able to truthfully answer “Yes” to these questions (or a majority of them, and are working on the others), then your life is bearing the fruit of true salvation. Jesus said that it is by our fruits that we are known as His disciples Matthew 7:20Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.

Fruitless branches-professing believers who do not display the fruit of the Spirit are cut off and thrown into the fire

Galatians 5:22-23But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

John 15:2He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn't produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more.

A genuine faith is one that not only believes in God (the devils themselves do that), but leads to open confession of sin and obedience to Christ’s commands

James 2:19You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God.[a] Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror.

Remember, we are saved by grace through faith, not by our works

Ephesians 2:8-9God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God.9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.

But our works should display the reality of our salvation

James 2:17-18. So you see, faith by itself isn't enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.Now someone may argue, "Some people have faith; others have good deeds." But I say, "How can you show me your faith if you don't have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds."

Genuine saving faith will always produce works; a faith that is perpetually without works is no faith at all and saves no one.……In addition to these confirmations, we need to remember God’s promises and the reality of the war we are in. Satan is just as real as Jesus Christ, and he is a formidable enemy of our souls. When we turn to Christ, Satan will look for every opportunity to deceive and defeat us. He will try to convince us that we are unworthy failures or that God has given up on us. When we are in Christ, we have the assurance that we are kept by Him. Jesus Himself prayed for us that the Father would “protect us by the power of His name

John 17:11Now I am departing from the world; they are staying in this world, but I am coming to you. Holy Father, you have given me your name; now protect them by the power of your name so that they will be united just as we are.

Again in verse 15, He prayed

John 17:15 I'm not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one.

Jesus also said

John 10:27-29My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me,for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father's hand

If you hear and obey the voice of Jesus, then you are one of His sheep, and He will never let you go. Jesus gave a wonderful word picture here of Christians securely held within His loving hands and the Father’s almighty hands wrapping themselves around His, giving us a double assurance of eternal security.