In my last “You Can Be Sure” post Noel asked some good questions which have spurred me on to write a little bit more about this subject of assurance.
Noel writes,“I can be sure that I am saved (go to heaven) when I accept Jesus. Does this mean we should be concerned about going to heaven, or should we be concerned about doing what Jesus commanded us to do, which is to love one another as He loved us?”
Here, Noel alludes to the truth that salvation is not just about going to Heaven. Heaven is a perk of salvation but not the point. The point of salvation is being made right in our relationship with the God of the universe, even Jesus Christ.
The Bible teaches that no one is acceptable to God and that no man by his own actions can make himself accepted by God.
“As the Scriptures say, ‘No one is righteous— not even one. No one is truly wise; no one is seeking God. All have turned away; all have become useless. No one does good, not a single one.’ ” Ro. 3:10-12 NLT
Isaiah 64 tells us that all of our attempts at righteousness are but filthy rags.
While this is a central truth of God’s word, standing alongside it is the truth in tension, that while we cannot save ourselves, the God who created us can and will save those who trust Him!
“For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. “There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.” John 3:16-21
To answer Noel’s first question I don’t think we should truly be concerned with going to Heaven or doing what Jesus commanded; Both things are impossible for us to attain without first coming to Jesus and trusting Him for saving grace. When we “come to the light”, put ourselves in the hands of Jesus, then getting to Heaven and obeying Jesus both become possible.
What do you think?
Reinventing the We'll 
I know when I received Jesus on Psalm Sunday April 1, 2007 I knew right then I was going to heaven. Some days my head is in the clouds and I long to be with my Savior, Jesus Christ but for most days I am asking that His will be done in my life. I try to put all my trust in Him for I now know that I have The perfect Father, who will always take care of me. Just a side note here, that this Sunday is Psalm Sunday April 1st, it’s going to be quite a celebration not only because it was the day I was saved but because we are celebrating our Lord and Savior. A-men!!!
Apparently I did not have enough coffee when writing my above comment. I meant to say Palm Sunday not Psalm Sunday. I guess I enough coffee this morning to remember I had written that. lol!!
Coffee is good!:)
And I heard it was quite a celebration too Deb! I am sorry I missed it! As one who has been the recipient of God’s ministry through your life I am so thankful He called out and brought you into His kingdom. You are a great blessing!
When we receive the gift of salvation through faith, we do look forward to the time when we will be in heaven, it is inevitable, for that is where we are perfected in glory and will worship at the throne of God. We all want to be there. I see nothing wrong with having this hope. However, we should not be concerned about it. Our “good works” are a natural response to the grace we have freely received. Our true faith will undoubtedly produce good works like the fruit of the spirit.
A-men I couldn’t agree more. I so look forward to the day when I shall stand before my King in Glory! But until then I live fully in Him so on that day I will hear “Well done thou good an faithful servant! Enter into my rest!” Oh Jesus bring it soon! Thanks for this encouraging comment.
Great subject and scriptures, thanks! Noel proposed a great question….I am only concerned about things when I look to myself and what I need do. The glory and grace of Jesus’ gift is that I no longer feel concerned about anything and know I can do nothing because He has done it all .Just focusing on Him and not me fills me with opportunities and peace over concern…just where this blog took me over the last few seconds. I am thankful for Noel’s question and your sharing jelillie!
You make an awesome point Tom! We become concerned when the weight of success rests on us but it does not! Jesus is our victor! Hallelujah!
Love your focus here, friend. If we simply keep our eyes on Jesus, the rest finds its rightful place. God bless
A-men! By the way,how are your missionary friends doing? I prayed for the nation of Chad today!
*IF* the grave was the end, *IF* there was no heaven, no eternity with the Lord, the life we have *HERE AND NOW* would be enough!
Don’t get me wrong. I KNOW there is a heaven, a place being prepared for me by my Saviour, and I am looking forward to seeing Him and worshipping Him wholeheartedly . . . but my present day salvation – the 53 years out of the 75 years of my life, that He has been my Companion – the way He has cared for me, provided for me, encouraged and enabled me, challenged and directed me . . .
The Christian LIFE is amazing! The fellowship with the Creator God who adopted me into His own family is awesome! Heaven will be an added bonus, but my Saviour is to be praised for what He has done for me and what He continues to do for me right now!
What an amazing God!
This is so true Angela! The Christian life even with it’s trials and difficulties is a blessed life where joy and peace in the Holy Ghost can be the ruling influence! HE is indeed an amazing God!
Thanks everyone for continuing to respond to my question. Thanks to jelillie for posting my question as well, since questions are what drive me to seek more about God. If I sound argumentative or contradictory, this is not my intention. My goal is to grow spiritually (and you can learn more about my journey in my blog). I also thing that being concerned about going to heaven should not be our priority, but doing what Jesus commanded us to do. Contrary to what many readers of my blog have commented in the past, I don’t believe that I can be “saved” only through my deeds. If I do not acknowledge first that I am not good, and that I can only truly serve others with the love the God has given us FIRST in the person of Jesus, then my actions are simply selfish acts to get some reward. The problem is that thinking of going to heaven can be a trap because it can become the reward we hope for for serving others, an then our love becomes conditional. Still, I also believe that other people besides Christians can serve others unconditionally and without expecting a reward, and still be “saved”. The distinction is that my definition of being “saved” differs from the traditional Christian, but that is a topic for another discussion. It is interesting to me that in the Gospel of John it says ” …but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.” (John 3:16-21) It does not say “for their beliefs were evil..” or “…but those who believe what is right come to the light” No, it clearly talks about those who DO right come to the Light. Just a thought.
An interesting observation Noel! I have always taken that Scripture in light of other Scripture to mean the right thing to do is to come to the light. The light indicated in the context of the verse being Jesus. Throughout the Scripture we find that the way a person approaches Christ is always through faith in what He did and from that spring love and good works. Salvation is through faith alone by grace alone. I do not think you argumentative. Though our view points differ our goal is to get to God and so HE shall lead! 🙂