While we rightly stress the need to make preparation for the Judgment Day (see Matthew 25), we must not fail to observe those passages that emphasize the comfort Christians ought to possess when they are prepared for the Judgment Day. We can be sure about our salvation, because we can trust the One Who is saving us. Consider a few of these important passages, and what they teach about the security of the Christian:
- 2 Peter 1:10-11. Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you (emp. added).
- 1 John 1:7, 9. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. . . . If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (emp. added).
- Romans 4:8. [B]lessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.
- Romans 8:1. There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (emp. added).
- 1 John 5:13-14. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life. And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us (emp. added).
Study these passages (and others like them). In concert, they teach that the faithful Christian does not have to be concerned about being lost, because God does not hold the sins of Christians against them. Sometimes Christians do sin (1 John 1:8, 10), and yet because the blood of Christ continually cleanses His people of all unrighteousness, God is not keeping a record of their sins.
Notice that a person who is not serious about serving God do not have this blessing of security. One who has “fallen away” from the faith is lost (Hebrews 6:6). One who is living in willful, deliberate sin is no child of God’s and has no hope (Hebrews 10:24-31). Are you a faithful child of God, confident in your salvation based upon your obedience to God’s gracious invitation?