Will I Live Eternally?

One of the beautiful promises of Jesus is that of eternal life. He promises to those who will follow Him that He will lead them through life’s trials and tribulations and on into Heaven where everything is as it should be free from the destructive power of sin.

When a person yields their life to Jesus there is quite often a feeling of euphoria but with life’s constant barrage of trials, sorrows and hardships this feeling often fades away causing some to feel as though they have lost the joy of their salvation and maybe even their salvation all together. Thankfully because we didn’t earn our salvation we can’t lose it. Jesus Himself said, “No one can snatch them [His followers] from His hand.” (John 10:28) So the question is not did you lose your salvation it is were you really saved to start with?

A person does not know they are saved because they prayed a prayer. In the last days many will say to Jesus “Lord, Lord,” but Jesus will say, “I never knew you.” Following Jesus requires that you follow! Followers are not saved because they follow they are following because they have been transformed by God’s grace into people who love God and others, who learn to obey God’s Word and who pray seeing evidence of answers to those prayers.

John the disciple that Jesus loved, wanted people to be assured that they would have eternal life so he gave four confirmations. First the Spirit who speaks directly to each person’s spirit, as they read God’s Word daily; the Holy Spirit give assurance to the personal spirit as they follow the way of Jesus. Secondly he notes the change a follower experiences. They start following the ways described in the Bible then they become aware of God’s shaping of their hearts to love Him and people. They begin to separate people from their actions. They love the people but hate their sinful ways. As they pray daily they see the evidence of God’s hand at work in them, around them and through them.

All of this gives them the calm assurance that they indeed will experience eternal life even when they don’t feel the euphoria they once knew. By God’s grace we are saved, kept and carried to Heaven. It’s all by His power, but by a lot of hard work on the follower’s part they grow into people of extreme faith and blessed assurance.