An Arkie’s Faith Passing the test

give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.” John 14:27 (NLT)

We can be sure of our marital status, but can we be sure what our marital status will be 10 years from now? Now that’s a different question. In 2 Peter 1:10 (NLT), the Apostle Peter wrote, “Dear brothers and sisters, work hard to prove that you really are among those God has called and chosen. Do these things, and you will never fall away.” any good. I still had to take the final exam. I was not happy.

We can know that we are saved today, but only God knows the future. Only He knows whether we will fall away. But we can know in our heart whether we are in a saved condition right now. We need to know that.

Many Christians go through life like they are in school. They are always worried about their grades. They are concerned about making a passing grade. They spend their lives in anxiety about the outcome. They believe they cannot know if they are saved or lost! Many don’t have that assurance of salvation.

The Bible has a lot to say on this topic. You can have the assurance of salvation. Jesus Himself gives assurance to those who believe in Him. In John 10:27,28 (NRSV) Jesus says, “My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand.”

While speaking to a group of people on the topic of assurance, I asked, “How many here are married? If you are, raise your hand.” Most of the hands in the audience went up. Then I asked a follow-up question, “How many of you don’t know if you’re married?” Not a single hand went up. Then I asked, “How do you know you are married?”

Just about everyone knows if they are married or not. A rare issue in the legal system might make someone unsure of their marital status, but most people know whether they are married.

We can be sure of our marital status, but can we know if we are saved? Indeed, we can know. In Philippians 4:7 (VOICE) Paul tells us that we can “know that the peace of God (a peace that is beyond any and all of our human understanding) will stand watch over your hearts and minds in Jesus.”

If we wonder every moment of every day what our score is on our final exam, we do not have peace. But God has promised his children peace. When Jesus was about to leave this earth, he told His disciples, “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I

Works-oriented Christians know that they don’t measure up. They know that Romans 6:23 (NKJV) tells us, “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” They have a hard time believing that eternal life is a gift of God. They feel that they must score high on the final exam to achieve eternal life.

If we think perfect obedience is the test, we feel that God can’t save us every time we make a mistake. That doubt is intensified by the accusations made by Satan against us. Satan delights in making us doubt our salvation. On the other hand, we can delude ourselves by looking at our works with an overblown view of our own goodness, seeing righteousness in ourselves when there is none.

Gentle Reader, Jesus wants you to be saved. 2 Peter 3:9 (NCV) says, “God is being patient with you. He does not want anyone to be lost, but he wants all people to change their hearts and lives.”

When you believe in Him and change your heart and life, Jesus wants you to know you are saved. In John 6:47 (NKJV), Jesus says, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life.”