STRENGTH FOR THE JOURNEY
STRENGTH FOR THE JOURNEY
I John 5:13
Dear Friend,
Where will you spend eternity?
There are few issues in life as critical as answering this question. How people respond depends on their belief system. A Hindu believes that he or she could return in the next life as a cow. For an atheist, there is no existence after this time on Earth. Simply put, many people all over the world are confused about eternity.
As Christians, we have a blessed assurance that we will spend our eternities with God, our Father.
What saddens me is the anxiety I see in so many Christians today. Men, women and young people who know God through Jesus still worry and fret about where they will go after they die. Maybe they aren’t imagining morbid scenes of an eternity without God, but their lifestyles and choices tell me they are not convinced that their future in heaven is secure.
Perhaps you or someone you know can identify with this anxiety over eternal security. For example, consider this story of a young man named James:
As a teenager, James went to a youth group gathering at a local church with his friend. There, for the first time, he heard the Gospel. Coming from a broken home and a history of drug and alcohol abuse, James was drawn to the idea that God is a loving Father who was willingly and eagerly waiting to forgive him and give him a new start.
James placed his faith in Jesus and entered into God’s family. Overwhelming joy and peace came over him that night. But the next day, he wasn’t sure what his experience meant for his daily life. He knew he should probably change, stop taking drugs and drinking, but that was easier said than done.
Without proper discipleship and a deeper understanding of the power of the Holy Spirit, James slipped back into his rebellious lifestyle. The days after his conversion experience didn’t look much different than the days before.
Years went by, and James staggered through life making bad decision after bad decision.
Occasionally, he would look back to the night at the youth rally and remember God’s presence when he prayed, but that time seemed distant and unreal.
Can you relate with James? Maybe you know someone whose story is very similar.
There are three ways to look at James’ situation . . . two which I believe could dangerously lead James down paths of fear and defeat.
Some would tell James that his experience at the youth rally was real and that his salvation was legitimate. God saved James from his sins, cleansing him and giving him a fresh start. However, when James chose the path of sin once again, the grace that God had given was taken away.
If this counsel were true, James could never truly know his future in heaven is certain. His lifestyle would constantly threaten his ability to receive God’s grace.
Others would tell James that what he experienced on the night of the youth rally was nothing significant. Had he truly believed that Jesus died for his sins and had he truly placed his faith in Christ’s blood, his life would have immediately changed. James would have walked the straight and narrow if his conversion experience were legitimate.
According to this mindset, James would be plagued with the constant fear that his actions were not proof of his salvation. The peace and hope of heaven would elude him as he worried whether or not his experience was real.
Both of these belief systems give James reason to worry about death. They both teach him that his eternity depends on his ability to be “good enough.”
Now tell me, if your salvation depends on how good you can be, do you have any hope of hanging onto it?
If you said “yes,” you are deceiving yourself. God is holy and perfect. Man is sinful and depraved. Apart from God, we have no hope of ever being good enough for heaven. We can’t be good enough, and we can’t do enough good things to buy our way into heaven.
You will never reach your full potential in this life if your subconscious is burdened with anxiety over the next one.
There is a third perspective to consider in James’ situation . . . one that gives James hope beyond his troubles and struggles.
In John 5:24 Jesus says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.”
Notice Jesus says he “has” passed from death to life and that he “has” eternal life. He did not say that he “will” pass from death to life or that he “will” have eternal life. Eternity in heaven is accomplished immediately upon belief in Jesus as one’s personal sin-bearer. Period.
The New Testament is overflowing with passages, affirming the set reservation in heaven for the children of God. It is not a conditional reservation, in danger of being cancelled. It is irrevocable.
God never intended us to live with worry and doubt over a matter He settled for us more than 2,000 years ago. Jesus accomplished our salvation.
I am especially reminded of God’s glorious grace during this Easter season. Jesus died to give me life. My only response to Him is to receive it and trust Him to keep that life secure for me.
“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand” (John 10:27-28) .
The truth of eternal security is one of my favorite subjects to preach on. I think most of us have become so accustomed to the dread of death and the uncertainty about the afterlife that we don’t realize how much it hinders our walk with God and robs us of the abundant life we were intended to live.
I want to see you free from the fear of death, rejoicing in the guarantee of heaven, so that you can live in grateful obedience to your Savior. When the grave loses its grip on you, your heart is released to respond to God with love and service . . . just like you were designed to do.
I John 5:13
Dear Friend,
Where will you spend eternity?
There are few issues in life as critical as answering this question. How people respond depends on their belief system. A Hindu believes that he or she could return in the next life as a cow. For an atheist, there is no existence after this time on Earth. Simply put, many people all over the world are confused about eternity.
As Christians, we have a blessed assurance that we will spend our eternities with God, our Father.
What saddens me is the anxiety I see in so many Christians today. Men, women and young people who know God through Jesus still worry and fret about where they will go after they die. Maybe they aren’t imagining morbid scenes of an eternity without God, but their lifestyles and choices tell me they are not convinced that their future in heaven is secure.
Perhaps you or someone you know can identify with this anxiety over eternal security. For example, consider this story of a young man named James:
As a teenager, James went to a youth group gathering at a local church with his friend. There, for the first time, he heard the Gospel. Coming from a broken home and a history of drug and alcohol abuse, James was drawn to the idea that God is a loving Father who was willingly and eagerly waiting to forgive him and give him a new start.
James placed his faith in Jesus and entered into God’s family. Overwhelming joy and peace came over him that night. But the next day, he wasn’t sure what his experience meant for his daily life. He knew he should probably change, stop taking drugs and drinking, but that was easier said than done.
Without proper discipleship and a deeper understanding of the power of the Holy Spirit, James slipped back into his rebellious lifestyle. The days after his conversion experience didn’t look much different than the days before.
Years went by, and James staggered through life making bad decision after bad decision.
Occasionally, he would look back to the night at the youth rally and remember God’s presence when he prayed, but that time seemed distant and unreal.
Can you relate with James? Maybe you know someone whose story is very similar.
There are three ways to look at James’ situation . . . two which I believe could dangerously lead James down paths of fear and defeat.
Some would tell James that his experience at the youth rally was real and that his salvation was legitimate. God saved James from his sins, cleansing him and giving him a fresh start. However, when James chose the path of sin once again, the grace that God had given was taken away.
If this counsel were true, James could never truly know his future in heaven is certain. His lifestyle would constantly threaten his ability to receive God’s grace.
Others would tell James that what he experienced on the night of the youth rally was nothing significant. Had he truly believed that Jesus died for his sins and had he truly placed his faith in Christ’s blood, his life would have immediately changed. James would have walked the straight and narrow if his conversion experience were legitimate.
According to this mindset, James would be plagued with the constant fear that his actions were not proof of his salvation. The peace and hope of heaven would elude him as he worried whether or not his experience was real.
Both of these belief systems give James reason to worry about death. They both teach him that his eternity depends on his ability to be “good enough.”
Now tell me, if your salvation depends on how good you can be, do you have any hope of hanging onto it?
If you said “yes,” you are deceiving yourself. God is holy and perfect. Man is sinful and depraved. Apart from God, we have no hope of ever being good enough for heaven. We can’t be good enough, and we can’t do enough good things to buy our way into heaven.
You will never reach your full potential in this life if your subconscious is burdened with anxiety over the next one.
There is a third perspective to consider in James’ situation . . . one that gives James hope beyond his troubles and struggles.
In John 5:24 Jesus says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.”
Notice Jesus says he “has” passed from death to life and that he “has” eternal life. He did not say that he “will” pass from death to life or that he “will” have eternal life. Eternity in heaven is accomplished immediately upon belief in Jesus as one’s personal sin-bearer. Period.
The New Testament is overflowing with passages, affirming the set reservation in heaven for the children of God. It is not a conditional reservation, in danger of being cancelled. It is irrevocable.
God never intended us to live with worry and doubt over a matter He settled for us more than 2,000 years ago. Jesus accomplished our salvation.
I am especially reminded of God’s glorious grace during this Easter season. Jesus died to give me life. My only response to Him is to receive it and trust Him to keep that life secure for me.
“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand” (John 10:27-28) .
The truth of eternal security is one of my favorite subjects to preach on. I think most of us have become so accustomed to the dread of death and the uncertainty about the afterlife that we don’t realize how much it hinders our walk with God and robs us of the abundant life we were intended to live.
I want to see you free from the fear of death, rejoicing in the guarantee of heaven, so that you can live in grateful obedience to your Savior. When the grave loses its grip on you, your heart is released to respond to God with love and service . . . just like you were designed to do.
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