~ by Mark Maulding
A man in his 70s recently lost his wife to a long-term disease. She was a true believer in Jesus, and so is he. In an attempt to comfort him, a friend said, “The good news is that she is in heaven with Jesus.” The husband’s response showed he had great anxiety over this. He replied, “I’m not so sure she’s in heaven.” He had been taught that we can’t be sure we are going to heaven when we die as Christians. Yet, this belief is mild compared to what many Christ indwelt Christians believe.
The biggest lie about us having 100% assurance about going to heaven has to do with how much we sin versus how much we obey God. The common lie is that if you sin too much, God will get fed up with you, and he will depart from you forever. Yet, let’s be honest. Haven’t many of us done that one sin so many times that we’ve wondered if this might be true or if we are even Christians at all?
One Scripture seems to say that we can “out-sin” God’s grace and lose our salvation, meaning Christ will no longer live in us:
Hebrews 10:26-27 (TPT) “For if we continue to persist in deliberate sin after we have known and received the truth, there is not another sacrifice for sin to be made for us. 27 But this would qualify one for the certain, terrifying expectation of judgment and the raging fire ready to burn up his enemies!”
The sin here is only one—rejecting Jesus Christ as our Savior and Messiah after we understand the gospel.
There are many similar Scriptures that can be confusing such as:
Colossians 1:22-23 (NIV) “But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation — 23 if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.” (emphasis added)
This Scripture appears to say that if you once believed in Jesus but later denied him, denouncing your faith, Jesus ejected from you, and you lost your salvation.
The answer is if someone once claimed faith in Jesus but later denied him as their Savior, it is likely they never had Christ in them. They believed the facts of the gospel and might have had some emotional experiences, but trials and time prove whether a person’s faith is genuine.
Dr. Adrian Rogers once said it this way. “A faith that fizzles before the finish had a flaw from the first.”
Finally, think of this. If we can lose our salvation, it means this. God would have to take us out of the heavenly places where we now sit with Christ, un-resurrect us with Christ, un-crucify us with Christ, and sever the union we have with Christ! That is simply not going to happen. We are secure in Christ forever.
We are forgiven, clean, righteous, holy, blameless, and close in Christ forever. That’s why it’s called the lavish grace of God in Ephesians 1!
Ephesians 1:3-10 (TPT) “Every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm has already been lavished upon us as a love gift from our wonderful heavenly Father, the Father of our Lord Jesus—all because he sees us wrapped into Christ. This is why we celebrate him with all our hearts!
4 And he chose us to be his very own, joining us to himself even before he laid the foundation of the universe! Because of his great love, he ordained us, so that we would be seen as holy in his eyes with an unstained innocence.
5–6 For it was always in his perfect plan to adopt us as his delightful children, through our union with Jesus, the Anointed One, so that his tremendous love that cascades over us would glorify his grace —for the same love he has for his Beloved One, Jesus, he has for us. And this unfolding plan brings him great pleasure!
7 Since we are now joined to Christ, we have been given the treasures of redemption by his blood—the total cancellation of our sins—all because of the cascading riches of his grace. 8 This superabundant grace is already powerfully working in us, releasing within us all forms of wisdom and practical understanding. 9 And through the revelation of the Anointed One, he unveiled his secret desires to us—the hidden mystery of his long-range plan, which he was delighted to implement from the very beginning of time. 10 And because of God’s unfailing purpose, this detailed plan will reign supreme through every period of time until the fulfillment of all the ages finally reaches its climax—when God makes all things new in all of heaven and earth through Jesus Christ.”
Live Free In Christ,
Mark Maulding, President and Founder
www.GraceLifeInternational.com – Leading Christians Into the Life-Giving Power of God’s Grace
© Mark Maulding (But feel free to share this.)
Bestselling Author God’s Best-Kept Secret: Christianity Is Easier Than You Think – now available on AUDIO
