Article #395
by Bill Nugent
It would be pretty tough to go through life not being certain of whether or not you’ll be spending the afterlife in heaven. The Christian walk is a one-on-one relationship with God through Christ. We can know that we have eternal life.
God has provided great assurance to us of our salvation. When you receive Christ as Savior and follow Him as Lord, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in your heart. The Holy Spirit is not silent. The scriptures give us many examples proving that the Holy Spirit is indeed present within us and that He speaks to us. The Holy Spirit gives us assurance that we belong to God and we will spend the afterlife with Him in heaven.
My favorite scripture that gives assurance of salvation is Romans 8:16. It reads: “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.”*
This verse is very clear. The Holy Spirit lives with our human spirit in our heart and He tells us we are children of God. If we are born again children of God then we are certainly destined for heaven!
I know that I belong to Christ because His Spirit lives in my heart.
Another one of my favorites is Galatians 4:6-7. It reads: “And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, Abba! Father! Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God.”
This passage in Galatians is very similar to the one in Romans 8:16. It clearly declares that the Holy Spirit speaks to our spirit within us. The Holy Spirit of God assures us that we are children of God and heirs of God. These are very comforting and exciting declarations!
We Were Re-Created
Do you know that you were born into God’s family and not merely adopted? The New Testament clearly teaches that we were regenerated. This is what it means to be born again.
We were actually recreated in our spirit. Our human spirit was recreated in a glorified state when we got saved. We are partakers of the divine nature. We are children of God and we are destined to be with Him for all of the eons of time in the afterlife.
“Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost” (Titus 3:5 KJV).
“For you have been born again, not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and abiding word of God” (I Peter 1:23).
“Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature” (II Corinthians 5:17).
More Comforting Assurances
The First Epistle of John gives us very straightforward, comforting assurances that we belong to God and are destined to be with him in eternity. One way that we know that we are genuinely born of God and love God and will spend eternity with God is that we willingly and joyfully obey God.
“And by this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments” (I John 2:3).
“By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit” (I John 4:13).
When you were born again your heart was changed and you desire to live a godly Christian life and obey God.
Let me end with a Bible promise that tells us we can KNOW that we have eternal life.
“These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, in order that you may know that you have eternal life” (I John 5:13).
*All scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible unless otherwise noted.
Steps to salvation:
Jesus said “Ye must be born again” (John 3:7).
- 1) Believe that God created you and loves you and sent the Messiah (Messiah is Hebrew for Christ) to redeem you.
- 2) Believe that Jesus Christ came in fulfillment of over 300 Bible prophecies to die for you, to take upon Himself the penalty of your sins (Isaiah 53:5-6, John 6:29, Romans 4:5, First Peter 3:18).
- 3) Turn from sin and call on the name of Jesus to receive forgiveness of sins (Romans 10:13).
- 4) Receive Jesus as Savior and experience the new birth (John 1:12, Acts 2:38).
- 5) Follow Jesus Christ as Lord (John 14:21).
Prayer to receive salvation:
“Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13).
To receive the salvation that Jesus purchased for us at the terrible cost of His suffering and death on our behalf I invite you to pray this simple prayer:
“Dear heavenly Father, I thank you for sending Jesus, the promised Messiah, to die for my sins. I admit that I am a sinner. I repent of my sins and I ask for your forgiveness on the basis of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I ask you to fill me with your Holy Spirit to empower me to serve you under the Lordship of Jesus Christ, Amen.”
If you prayed this prayer in the humble sincerity of your heart then you have received everlasting life, which includes power to live right in this life and entrance into heaven in the afterlife!
(C) 2016 William P. Nugent, permission granted to email or republish for Christian outreach.