Month: March 2021

4. God will faithfully reward believers for genuine works they produce – The Bible speaks of rewards, privileges or crowns that can be gained in heaven by the child of God for faithful Christian service and living down here on earth. The Bible only mentions five crowns up for grabs but there are probably many more. The important thing is the rewards we earn during our short 70-80 year lifespan lasts for eternity. What we earn will last for billions and billions of years! That’s a good return on any time you invest in God’s work. I know this much, heaven is going to be wonderful beyond anything we can possibly imagine and it’ll be the same with the rewards we receive in heaven for our work on earth.

A. The incorruptible crown – This reward is given to those who live a disciplined, Godly life under the dual control of the Holy Spirit and self. All believers who go to heaven will receive at least one crown just for getting there and I believe this is the universal crown given to all the saints in heaven. Nowhere in my research can I find any corroboration on this but it’s just something I feel inside.

1 Corinthians 9:25 – And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown.

B. The crown of rejoicing – This reward is given to those who have been faithful and effective in witnessing for Christ. This is the crown I long for the most for several reasons. Witnessing for Christ is the Great Commission of Jesus to all his disciples. We all want to please God and nothing would please God more than for us to obey the command dearest to his heart, which is witnessing for Christ. I can’t bear the thought of any fellow human being going to hell for eternity. I worry about all the lost souls. The thought of it keeps me up at night. If I can share the gospel message of Christ and do my part to help save at least one person for the kingdom of God then my life will have had meaning. My life will have mattered. That’s why I blog. My web site is named onemoreforjesus.net for this reason. My goal is to instruct and exhort others to study God’s word and witness for Christ.

1 Thessalonians 2:19-20 – For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming?

C. The crown of righteousness – This reward is for those who have fulfilled God’s will for their lives and who love the coming of Christ. When I was searching for God the first thing about Christianity that caught my eye was fulfilled Bible prophecy. I love Bible prophecy and I love studying it. God gave us Bible prophecy to prove he is who he says he is, Almighty God. The Bible contains over 1000 prophecies, over 500 of which have been fulfilled and well documented. When that fact soaks in you know the Bible you’re holding in your hands is the word of God. Of all the prophecies in the Bible, the coming of Christ to rapture the saints in the air is the one I love the most.

2 Timothy 4:8 – (Paul speaking) – There is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.

D. The crown of life – This reward will be given to those who have endured persecution for their faith. Every martyred saint will receive this reward. One of the reasons we should rejoice when we face trials for our faith is the prospect of receiving this crown in heaven. It’s possible this crown is the one given to all believers who enter heaven instead of the incorruptible crown. I’m not sure which one it is. Whatever this crown is for I want it.

James 1:12 – Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.

E. The crown of glory – This reward is given to pastors who have faithfully guided their local church. God doesn’t call everyone to ministry but everyone can still gain this reward by being deacons and other church leaders. Believers who teach Sunday school and direct Bible study classes also qualify for this reward. The key is you’re sharing God’s word with others for their edification. You’re helping others to gain knowledge, understanding and wisdom from God’s word. I qualify for the crown of glory because my blog site promotes the studying of God’s word and witnessing for Christ. The Apostle Paul was the greatest Christian who ever lived and he was not ashamed of seeking out the treasures of heaven and we should follow his lead. The Bible is our guide telling us how to gain the riches of heaven so let’s proceed with determination and purpose.

1 Peter 5:1-4 – The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory which does not fade away.

3. Proper doctrine is essential for salvation – As I said earlier, the Christian must know what they believe and why they believe it. A Christian must not be spoon-fed their faith by the church or anyone else who may be wrong or have some hidden agenda. Every Christian is responsible for reading the Bible themselves and studying God’s word for knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. Every Christian has the responsibility of talking to God daily in prayer and seeking the revelation of God through the Holy Spirit. Every Christian is commanded to witness for Christ. A person must believe in the following core tenets of the Christian faith or they are not saved:

A. The existence of God – I’m not talking about Allah, other gods or multiple gods. I’m talking about Jehovah, the the one true living God in heaven.

B. The sinfulness of man – The atheists of the world believe man is his own god and that man is basically good. The Bible teaches us man is wicked and eternally lost without the saving grace of God.

C. The deity of Jesus – Atheists and other religions believe Jesus was a good man, a wise teacher, and a prophet but he was not divine. A Christian must believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God who came to earth and took on flesh. A Christian must believe Jesus is God.

D. The substitutionary death and bodily resurrection of Christ – Christians must believe Jesus Christ came to earth for the purpose of dying a terrible death on the cross in our place so that our sins could be forgiven by a just God. For God’s grace to be applied the believer must accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Christians must believe Jesus died on the cross for the sins of all men, past, present and future. Christian’s must believe that Jesus was crucified, was buried, and on the third day arose from the dead. Christian’s must believe Jesus ascended back to heaven and now sits at the right hand of God making intercession for us.

E. The necessity of the regeneration of the Holy Spirit – Christians must believe they are born in sin and the only way to heaven and eternal life is by the mercy and grace of a loving God. The Christian must believe that when they accept Jesus Christ and their Lord and Savior they are saved unto eternal life. This occurs when the Holy Spirit gives us a new spirit without sin (regeneration). Our eternal spirit has been born again.

2 John 9 – Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son.

The believer must be intellectually and morally convinced of these truths and must willingly receive the person of Christ into their life. A genuine, initial belief in the doctrines of our faith and reception of Christ as Lord and Savior will continue throughout the believer’s life. The genuine Christian will never waver from this doctrinal position, or deny it. That’s why millions of Christians will be beheaded during the tribulation. The antichrist will lock up Christians for ten days to give them an opportunity to recant their faith. The vast majority of Christians will go to their death rather than deny God.

Colossians 1:21-23 – And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight-if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven.

If someone considers themselves a Christian they must believe in Jesus or they are not saved. Christianity means, “Christ’s men.” Holding fast to the doctrine of Christ is evidence of salvation and, conversely, anyone who denies any part of the doctrine of Christ is not saved and they will face the wrath of God on the last day. When it comes to believing Christian doctrine a person is either all in or all out. Failure to believe any part of the doctrine of faith means you are not saved. A person who holds fast until the end to the tenets of Christianity that I’ve just described will be presented to Jesus Christ in heaven on the last day for their reward. Personally, my goal is to always do what pleases God and my fondest wish when I’m standing before the bema judgement seat of Christ on the last day is to hear Jesus say, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.”

2. Salvation will manifest in outward signs – If a believer has genuine saving faith it will produce genuine works of righteousness in a persons life. I’m not saying once you’re saved you have to turn into the Apostle Paul but there should be changes in your life to reflect your new position with God. Others may not notice the difference in you but the believer will know they have changed inside.

Matthew 7:17-18,20 – (Jesus speaking) – Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.

You can only do what God calls you to do and everyone has a different calling. God calls on some to do great things for the kingdom of God and others are called simply to obedience and walking humbly with God. Most of us will fall somewhere in between. There are at least twelve things that believers will manifest when they are saved. A believer should manifest one or more of the following traits:

A. Enjoys fellowship with God, Jesus, and fellow believers.

1 John 1:3-4 – That which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. And these things we write to you that your joy may be full.

B. A sensitivity to sin.

1 John 1:8-10 – If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.

C. Basically obedient to the commandments of Scripture.

1 John 2:3-5 – Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know we are in Him.

D. Hatred of the world and its values.

1 John 2:15 – Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

E. Love of Jesus Christ and look forward to his coming.

2 Timothy 4:8 – There is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.

F. Sin less as a believer.

1 John 3:5-6 – And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.

G. Loves other believers.

1 John 3:14 – We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death.

H. Experienced answered prayers.

1 John 3:22 – And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep his commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.

I. The inner witness of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 8:16 – The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.

J. The ability to discern between spiritual truth and error.

John 10:27 – (Jesus speaking) – My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.

K. Belief in the basic doctrines of the faith.

1 John 5:1 – Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him.

L. Experience persecution for their Christian position.

John 15:18-19 – (Jesus speaking) – If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet, because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.

As a believer I’ve experienced all of the above traits of salvation in my life to one degree or another, except for persecution for being a Christian. Christians in America haven’t had to face persecution yet but according to the Bible it’s coming. Know what you believe and why so as to gird yourself for the coming hard times. If you’re a Christian and you don’t recognize any of the the above traits in your life you may want to reexamine you faith to see if you’re truly saved. Start by studying God’s Word and praying for God to reveal himself through his Holy Spirit.

1. Salvation is not repeatable – A natural birth cannot be reversed or repeated. In the Bible when God talks about being reborn he means spiritually. At conception God gives each of us a piece of himself, an eternal spirit. According to the Bible, God has begotten us. God made our physical bodies from the dust of the ground and he placed in that body an eternal spirit. In every sense of the word God is our father. It was actually the Holy Spirit who gave birth to our eternal spirit at conception and we know that the Holy Spirit is God. That’s why we refer to the Holy Spirit as the divine womb.

John 1:12 – But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even those who believe in His name.

1 John 5:1 – Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves Him who is begotten of Him.

1 John 5:18 – We know that whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him.

At birth our eternal spirit has the sin nature from Adam’s fall in the Garden of Eden. Since Adam was the first man he is our family patriarch. The spiritual law of imputation means every man who came after Adam in his family (us) has Adam’s sin passed on to him. God cannot abide sin and will not allow sin in heaven so therefore our eternal spirit cannot go there in its sinful state. If our eternal spirit can’t go to heaven the only other place it can go is hell. Those are the only two choices we have. Another spiritual law is the wages of sin is death. We are all born in sin and headed straight to hell with no way to save ourselves.

John 3:3 – (Jesus speaking) – Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

John 3:6 – (Jesus speaking) – That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

John 3:8 – (Jesus speaking) – The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.

God devised a salvation plan for man. To satisfy a just God the removal of the sins of man required a blood sacrifice from a sinless man. Since all men are sinners, we are lost. God had to send his own Son to earth in the form of a man to qualify as that spotless blood sacrifice in our place so that our sins might be forgiven. Even though Jesus Christ died for the sins of all men, that precious gift of divine blood has to be received to be applied. A person must believe in God and that Jesus Christ is the Son of God sent to redeem us of our sins by his sacrificial death on the cross. A person must believe Jesus was crucified, was buried and then arose from the dead on the third day in a resurrected body and now sits at the right hand of God in heaven.

A person by faith must accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. The moment we become believers we are saved unto eternal life by the blood of Christ. The divine womb of the Holy Spirit births a “new” eternal spirit and removes the old one. We get a one for one swap of eternal spirits instantaneously that we can neither feel nor detect. We only know it happens because the Bible says it does. Just remember when we become adopted sons of God our old spirit is exchanged for a new one without sin on it so we can enter heaven when we die. We are born a second time spiritually. We have been reborn in Christ Jesus.

1 Peter 1:3-5 – Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

For proof in Scripture look at the above verses and understand what it says. It says God has, “begotten us again,” which means God has birthed an eternal spirit in us a second time. The first birth was at conception. Our eternal spirit has been reborn at salvation. Why? So that our sins can be forgiven and we can be translated to the kingdom of God by our faith in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Our “living hope” is to also be raised from the dead and receive a new glorified body like the one Jesus has. Notice also that God says all believers have an inheritance (eternal life) waiting on them in heaven. Furthermore, God says our salvation is “reserved” in heaven which means it’s guaranteed. Most importantly, our salvation unto eternal life is, “kept by the power of God.” God is holding onto our salvation personally until we get to heaven to receive it. If God has our salvation in his hands nothing can loosen his grip on our eternal spirit. God will never let go of us.

John 6:51 – (Jesus speaking) – I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever.

John 6:35 – (Jesus speaking) – I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.

John 6:27 – (Jesus speaking) – Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because Gof the Father has set His seal on Him.

Jesus repeatedly uses the metaphor of food and water to represent salvation and eternal life. Just as we need food and water to survive in our physical bodies, so we need faith in Jesus Christ to be given eternal life in heaven. Our spiritual food and water is provided by our faith in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. Salvation is only needed one time for all time; and you can’t lose it. The Bible says once we’re saved God holds our salvation in his hands for us until the last day when our redemption will be completed by Jesus Christ. Once we’re indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God it means we’re saved and the Holy Spirit will never leave us until our death. That’s what it means to be sealed by the Holy Spirit.

When we die the Holy Spirit will take us straight to the presence of Jesus in heaven. The Holy Spirit within us is God’s seal of ownership ensuring we have eternal life. It can never be revoked. Romans 8:38-39, makes it clear that once God has us in the kingdom of God nothing can take us out of his hand. Satan can’t remove us, we can’t sin enough to remove ourselves, and God won’t change his mind and let us go. Once you’ve given your life to Jesus Christ your spot in heaven is secure and it is guaranteed by the power of Almighty God. If you can never lose your salvation you don’t have to worry about having to repeat it.

Romans 8:38-39 – For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

John 10:28 – (Jesus speaking) – And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.

John 10:29 – (Jesus speaking) – My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.

Luke 1:37 – For with God nothing will be impossible.

I’ve never lost my excitement over God’s Word. Every verse in the Bible is a gem, full of knowledge, understanding and wisdom. I’m like a kid in a candy store running to each one saying, “this one is my favorite.” Over the years I have probably had more than a dozen favorite verses. In previous blogs I have identified at least half a dozen verses as my favorite. We usually all start with John 3:16, as our favorite verse. Then we migrate to Psalm 23:4, and possibly the Lord’s Prayer. Personally, I’m fond of Isaiah 1:18, because God is telling us to come reason with him about our salvation. I’ve always been impressed by the fact God is inviting us to come talk to him any time about our salvation.

John 3:16 – For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Isaiah 1:18 – Come now, and let us reason together, says the Lord, though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they are like red crimson, they shall be as wool.

Psalm 23:4 – Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for you are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

My newest favorite Bible verse, and I’m really serious about it this time, is Jeremiah 29:11. Jeremiah was an Old Testament prophet. In the Old Testament times God spoke to Israel through his prophets. God spoke to the prophet directly and the prophet relayed God’s message to the people. In this verse God is sharing a personal message not only to the Jewish people in ancient times but to all people in all times. God is also speaking directly to you as if you’re the only person who matters; as if you’re the only person who has ever lived. Pay close attention to this message from God just for you:

Jeremiah 29:11 – For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not evil, to give you a future and a hope.

God is sharing a lot of information in this short verse. I’ll break it down into words and phrases so we can discuss each part and what it means for us personally:

1. “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you,”

God is speaking to us in the first person by repeatedly using the “I” word which means we’re in a one on one personal conversation with God as if there was no one else present in the room. Because God says “you” it’s just God and you and there’s something he wants you to know from him personally. We know that God thought about us in the past because God made us and we are wonderfully made. By using the word “think” instead of “thought” God is letting us know not only has God thought about us in the past, God is thinking about us now in the present time and he is always thinking about us. We are always on God’s mind. Imagine that, the Creator of the universe is always thinking about us which means we’re important to God. If we’re important to God that means God cares about us. If God cares for us it means he loves us.

2. “says the Lord,”

When God speaks to us directly we’re very important to him. In addition to using the first person “I”, God indicates the situation is current and ongoing by the word “says” instead of “said”. This confirms to us again that God never stops thinking about us. It tells us not only does God love us, God dotes on us like we would for a favorite grandchild.

3. “thoughts of peace and not of evil,”

In this phrase God is telling us what he’s thinking about pertaining to us. We know that our enmity with God came about because of our sin and this resulted in our broken fellowship with God. We know that our sin from Adam has led to our separation from God and the prospect of eternal death in the lake of fire. By using the word “peace” God lets us know he has a salvation plan to end the enmity between God and man, which is faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior. Salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, not only results in peace with God, it gives us the peace of God. God doesn’t have any evil thoughts. Evil in this phrase refers to the wrath of God, which God has reserved for the unrepentant sinner. This word “peace” lets us know God has only good thoughts toward believers. The saved children of God need not worry about the coming wrath of God and the condemnation which is reserved for the unbeliever. The unsaved will go to hell forever.

4. “to give you a future and a hope.”

Again, because God is saying “you”, it’s meant to be a one on one personal conversation between you and God. “To give” means God is giving something to his children, believers in Christ Jesus. In this phrase when God says “a future” he’s referring to being in heaven with him. After we die there are only two places we can go, heaven or hell, and there certainly is no future in the lake of fire where we’d be in torment forever. So God has in the past, and is now, thinking about our future in heaven in his presence. You’ve got to remember that the Bible says whatever God wants will come to pass so our presence in heaven with our Father is a certainty. When God says he is going to give us “a hope” he is talking about the cross, the resurrection of his Son Jesus Christ from the dead. Jesus paid for our sin debt by his sacrificial death on the cross. In Scripture our blessed “hope” is that when we die we will be also be resurrected and receive a glorified body like Jesus. The Bible assures us Jesus was the first fruits of salvation of which we also will partake.

In summary, Jeremiah 29:11, tells us God is crazy about us and he’s always thinking about us. God has a salvation plan so we can get to heaven and be with him forever. God can’t wait for us to get to heaven so he can shower us with honor, glory and riches beyond our wildest dreams. Do you remember the Bible story about the prodigal son? This story of the prodigal son is really about us and the father in the story represents God. God is revealing something about himself in this story. The father in the prodigal son story sat on his front porch every morning looking off to the horizon hoping to see his boy returning home to him. The father never stopped loving his son and never stopped watching for him to come home. The father never gave up hope that his boy would return to him one day.

Our God is the same way. God made us and sent us off into the world to find our salvation. God is on the front porch of heaven watching and waiting anxiously for us to be saved and return home to him in spirit first and then eventually in heaven in person. The father in the prodigal son finally saw his son coming down the road and rushed to meet him. The father showered his son with kisses, placed a new robe on him and a ring on his finger. The father ordered a celebration feast in the son’s honor. The son didn’t deserve the father’s grace but such was the father’s love that he gave his son all that he had. God is waiting to shower us with the same kind of love, honor, and glory that the prodigal son received.

I’ve spoken to people who’ve accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior but they’re still unsure if they’re really saved or not because they don’t feel any different physically. Some people believe they’re saved but they feel unworthy of being saved and fear they won’t be able to hold onto their salvation if they continue to commit sins. We’re looking at salvation from a human perspective instead of how God sees it. God is good and God is great. Keep that in mind when thinking about God. God is inclusive and his arms are open wide to welcome us into heaven. After all, God has a plan to save us and not condemn us. God does not throw up roadblocks to keep us out of heaven. It’s just the opposite. God would like nothing better than to have all his children join him in heaven. That’s why God has made our salvation as easy as possible. So easy that some people think there must be a catch, but there isn’t. Salvation is a gift of God and not contingent on how we feel about it.

John 10:28 – (Jesus speaking) – And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.

John 10:29 – (Jesus speaking) – My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.

Jeremiah 29:11 – For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Ephesians 1:13 – In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.

1 John 2:25 – And this is the promise that He has promised us-eternal life.

Our God is a God of mercy but also justice. God wants us with him in heaven but we must make the choice of our own free will. Salvation isn’t about us, it’s about the promises of God. Salvation is a work of God and he’ll handle all the details. God gives us the precious gift of eternal life for his eternal glory. Salvation means eternal life and once something is made eternal by an act of God it cannot then be undone and made “not eternal”. Nobody else could do it and God won’t do it. That would make God a liar and the Word of God untrue. God is ever faithful and will always fulfill his word. If that were not the case then God wouldn’t be God and we’d still be in our sins and have no hope of eternal life. If our salvation is not forever then the Christian faith becomes null and void. Christianity rests on the resurrection of Christ and the resurrection of Christ rests on eternal life being permanent when given. Once saved, always saved; otherwise Jesus died in vain.

John 3:18 – (Jesus speaking) – He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

John 6:40 – (Jesus speaking) – And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.

John 6:37 – (Jesus speaking) – All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.

Hebrews 7:25 – Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those that come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.

1 John 5:13 – These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.

It’s natural for us to think we are not worthy of salvation; because we aren’t. None of us deserve salvation. Every human being is born with a sin nature from Adam and because of that we all continue to sin the rest of our lives. We can sin less but we can’t stop sinning altogether. Salvation is not about us, it’s about God and his love, mercy and grace toward man, his special creation. We see ourselves and our current sinful state before a holy God and feel we are totally unworthy which is understandable. Because of the vast gulf between a holy God and our sinful state we can’t imagine what God could possibly see in us to make us worth saving. But God made us and to him we’re priceless. God sees us spiritually; how we’ll be in heaven where we’ll be the sinless, glorified sons of God that he has ordained. Whatever God purposes God already sees as a fact because God’s will always comes to pass.

1 Peter 1:3-5 – Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

Romans 8:38-39 – For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Hebrews 13:5 – I will never leave you nor forsake you.

Ephesians 1:4-5 – Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will.

Galatians 4:4-5 – But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.

You’re saved because God says you are in his Word. There are no ifs, ands, or buts about what Scripture says on this matter. There are no exceptions. God says what he means and means what he says. God cannot lie and God cannot be unfaithful to his Word. Relax. Trust in God. If you were sincere when you prayed the sinner’s prayer to God you’re saved unto eternal life. That’s it, end of story. You won’t feel any different physically but spiritually you’re a new person because God says you are. When God saves someone unto eternal life he gives that person’s new spirit to his Son Jesus as his own possession and the gift is irrevocable. Would God glorify himself and Jesus by giving our spirit to his Son only to take it back later? I don’t think so. God never changes his mind and God never makes mistakes.

Romans 8:1 – There is therefore no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

Ephesians 2:10 – For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

Galatians 6:7 – Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.

2 Corinthians 5:17 – Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

In death the soul separates from the body, but believers can never be separated from God. Once you’re saved you’ll always be a child of God. That doesn’t mean we’re free to sin without recourse. We will always be accountable to Jesus for our sins. If we sin persistently God will discipline us like any parent would do for his child. God could spank us in a number of ways and the punishment gets progressively stronger to fit the sin. We could suffer financial loss. We could suffer material loss. We could lose our effective service to God and our fellowship with God could be severed. We could suffer illness. In the worst case scenario, we could suffer physical death where God decides to bring us home before our sins become any more egregious. In all these cases we could potentially lose our reward but our position in heaven as sons of God is safe and secure. Eternal life is ours forever.

2 Peter 3:9 – The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

1 John 3:1 – Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!

1 John 5:11 – And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.

1 Corinthians 4:15 – For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.

Romans 11:29 – For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.