Dear Rev, I have been to church before because my friend took me there. After that, I stopped going. At that time I really didn’t understand God, but now I want to learn about how to live the way he wants me to and above all, learn how to love him. I have been abused by people in my past and I think I have lost the ability to feel and trust. So I want to know, is there anyway of knowing if I have fully accepted and love Jesus? I thought that in order to be a Christian, what you need to do was read the bible, go to church, pray and do your best to live a sinless life. I don’t want to have done all that and find out when I die that at my judgment I am still going to hell.
Thank you for your question. The Bible explains salvation in this way – “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no-one can boast” – Ephesians 2:8-9. This means we don’t get to heaven by doing good things or by being a good person. Instead, salvation is a gift. Therefore, we don’t work for it, we simply receive it. It’s received by faith in what Jesus did for us on the cross. That is, He died on the cross because we are sinners and need God’s forgiveness. Our part is to accept what Christ did for us on the cross and make it personal by asking Him to forgive us for all our sins. Therefore, assurance of salvation is based solely on what Christ did.
After that, you grow as a Christian by reading your Bible, praying and talking to God. As you do this, He reveals more of Himself to you. Also, the Holy Spirit makes it real to you that you belong to Him. The Bible says, “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God” – Romans 8:16. By having this relationship with God, you can have the assurance you will go to heaven.
Once you belong to Him it’s a matter of enjoying your relationship with God. You can talk to Him anytime about anything. Also, loving Jesus is a daily thing that’s part of the new friendship you have with Him. The secret is to spend time alone with Him and talk to Him. The more time you spend with Him the better you’ll get to know Him.
