I work at a Christian Television Network in the Correspondence Department. I deal with letters, emails and phone calls from viewers all over the world on a daily basis. Last week I had several emails from a viewer who is desperate to know that God has saved her and that she is headed for Heaven. She was heavy on my heart all week and through the weekend. I’ve sent her email with Scripture that I hope will help her to know that God loves her, and His salvation is readily available to all who call upon His name.
She attends church, and from the sound of things, it’s a very large church. She says she feels like as long as she is in church, she can live the Christian life successfully, but once she walks out the church doors, she struggles with sin, and she is afraid that no matter how much she tries, she will never overcome sin, and she will not make Heaven. My heart breaks for her, because, she does not have the assurance that God can and does save us from all sin, and once it is forgiven it is forgotten, and not held against us ever again.
For those of you who struggle with having the assurance to know that your salvation is sure, please know, God is not a tyrant. He’s not sitting in Heaven waiting for you to mess up and then zap you. He loves you and He wants you to have the joy that can only be attained by a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. He knows you’re not perfect, after all He created you and He knows you from the inside out! Once we have accepted Jesus as our Savior, we are cleansed from all sin. But, God knows that as humans, we will trip up and sin. However, that doesn’t mean we are doomed, because I John 1:9 tells us, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” John is talking to Born Again Believers! We will make mistakes, we will sin, we will fall, but all is not lost! God is FAITHFUL! Romans 8:16 tells us that, “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.” If every time we sinned, don’t you think that the Spirit would back off and say, “Whoa…wait a minute…you’re no child of mine!”? NO! If that were the case, then Romans 8:16 would be a lie!
Then does that mean we can live any way we want to? No. It is our responsibility to endeavor to live a godly life. Are we perfect? No. Will we fail? Yes! Is it hopeless? No! Romans 6:1-2 says, “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” As Believers, we are to live as godly a life as is possible. We are to see how close we can be to God, rather than saying, “How far away from God can I go and still be safe?”
That being said, God does not condemn us. Romans 8:1 says, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”
Having this knowledge should bring us confidence that God’s love covers us, and that we can rest in knowing that we are His!
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