We live in a
world that is full of doubt and mistrust. People are skeptical and we can see
the reason as many high-ranking officials and CEO’s have lied and cheated in
their positions on their way to the top. We see many who do not believe there is
an absolute truth for all of mankind. It seems ridiculous to many folks to
think there is anything that is “sure.” Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary
defines “sure” as: 1) firmly established / steadfast; 2) reliable / trustworthy;
3) admitting of no doubt / certain. So, is there anything that is “sure”
anymore? Is there anything that is certain and without doubt?
If you knew
that in the next fifteen minutes you would have to stand in front of the Lord
to learn your eternal destination, what would your reaction be? Would you be
relaxed, sitting comfortably in a chair with no worries and anxiety? Or would
you be pacing back and forth, wondering if you were assured a place in heaven,
hoping for the best, but unsure about it all? How many of us Christians are
confident that we are going to heaven? Whenever I ask that question in a public
setting, I am always surprised to learn that many are unsure. Why is that? Why
do we not feel assured of our salvation?
We humans are
good trash collectors, but we’re not very good garbage collectors. We allow the
trash of sin to build up around us, many times to the point of suffocation. We
go through life carrying it around on our backs. It weighs us down. It’s rotten
and it smells because it’s trash, yet we cannot seem to throw it away. And so,
we haul around this burden of guilt; never fully enjoying the benefits of the
Christian life. To enjoy the assurance that comes with being a Christian we must
be good garbage collectors. We must be able to throw out the trash and not
allow it to pile up around us any longer.
Psalm 103:12
reads, “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our
transgressions from us.” How reassuring it is that God not only forgives, but
He also strikes it from the record; He wipes the slate clean. If God can
forgive even the most heinous sin, why can’t we forgive ourselves? We are all
sinners (Romans 3:23). We are not good enough and we are not worthy enough to
earn an assured place in heaven. But that’s what’s so amazing about God and His
grace. We don’t have to be good enough or worthy enough.
[1 John
5:11-13] “And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and
this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the
Son of God does not have life. These things I have written to you who believe
in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life,
and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.” We just
have to be His! Unfortunately, there are many devoted Christians who feel
uncertain about their salvation. They feel as though they can never really know
for sure whether they have eternal life or not. But we don’t have to feel
uncertain about our eternal fate. God gives Christians eternal life, and that eternal
life is in His Son. Therefore, when one believes in Jesus Christ and obeys the
gospel (Acts 2:37-41; Romans 6:1-11), he receives this precious gift. It is a
life that includes all blessedness and fellowship with God and is not broken by
physical death. When we clothe ourselves with Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:26-27),
we become a child of God. We are a part of His family. And by being a part of
His family we can rest assured that He will save us if we continue to live in
faithful obedience to Him (1 John 1:5-7). “Do not love the world or the things
in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of
God abides forever” (1 John 2:15, 17). Are you sure you’re going to heaven with
Jesus? (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)
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