Everyone sins. No matter you are a local pastor or the neighborhood thug. Even the Rev. Billy Graham was aware of his shortcomings: “The Christian life is not a constant high. I have my moments of deep discouragement. I have to go to God in prayer with tears in my eyes, and say, ‘O God, forgive me,’ or ‘Help me.’ “
So though I am a Christian, I understand certainty of constant sin is inevitable. Yet it is through my Christianity that the blood of Jesus Christ offers me eternal salvation. What a wonderful thing, and I thank God for giving me certainty in salvation.
I do not fear death. I may fear a bit about how the process will take place, but not death itself. Why? Because I believe the moment that my spirit leaves my body, I will be in the presence of the Lord.
We know this because of what the apostle Paul wrote to Timothy:
2 Timothy 4:6-8 For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
Paul states, “. . . crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.” Paul is telling us that on the very same day he departs the earth, he will receive his crown of righteousness in heaven. And not only him but all those who one day die as believers in Jesus.
Knowing we believers will be in the presence of Jesus immediately upon death is very comforting. But there seems to be one thought that often invades that comfort. And that thought reverts back to the knowledge that we all do sin and we can’t help ourselves.
We sin in thought, word, and deed—constantly!
That fact plants ideas of doubt about true eternal salvation in many folk’s minds. How can we be assured our salvation is secured once we know Christ as our true savior when we are still sinning through life? The answer is—a changed heart. God is now centered within us. God told us He will transform us into something new, and He does.
Ezekiel 36:26-27 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.
God, in the beginning, knew we would sin. That is why He had a plan in place. He did it by changing our hearts to desire what is good and faithful, to be obedient to He who holds the world in His hands. With new hearts and the presence of the Spirit we now know, understand and acknowledge our sin to the LORD. As believers we now humbly confess of that sin and ask for forgiveness with a humble heart.
Yes, we are all going to sin from time to time. That’s what humans do. But because of Jesus we have a loving future to look forward to upon our death. We are assured through God’s word that once we become His children, no one will ever separate us from Him.
Through Jesus we have assurance of salvation.
John 10:28-30 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”
Billy Graham loved Jesus, and shared the assurance of salvation to all who had ears to hear.
“The Bible says there will be only one question on that day – what did you do with Jesus? You don’t go to hell for drinking liquor, you don’t go to hell for using profanity – you go to hell for rejecting Christ!”—Rev. Bill Graham
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Lift Him Up 
Amen!
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Anthony, thank you for reading this post. I know I’m preaching to the choir here, but this is something we all need assurance in to give ourselves peace.
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Amen! I pray this blog spreads far and wide!
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Cecilia, I thank you for your blessing. Yes, may God bless those who need this word to stumble upon it.
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Excellent.
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I appreciate you reading and reblogging this post! So kind of you to share with your readers.
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Reblogged this on Logos Speaks.
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This is amazing. I found this thanks to Hawk2017’s reblog.
The amazing part is that every day I read a daily devotional which was published in 1991 and is now out of print. The reading for today is from John 10, the very same scripture you quoted here, about no one being able to snatch us out of God’s hand. The commentary under this scripture in my devotional book says: “He tells me no one, not even myself, can pluck me out of His hand.”
Wow. Just WOW!
In this post you said: “I do not fear death. I may fear a bit about how the process will take place, but not death itself. Why? Because I believe the moment that my spirit leaves my body, I will be in the presence of the Lord.”
Amen. That’s how I feel, too. I have been near death. My soul briefly left my body. The peace, joy, and love in His presence was indescribable! However, the process of death does worry me sometimes.
Tomorrow, I am scheduled to fly on Southwest airlines from Albuquerque, New Mexico to Hartford, Connecticut, for my granddaughter’s wedding. I have flown approximately 15 times before and I didn’t mind it. In fact, I actually liked flying, even all the way to England. But for the past several weeks, my anxiety about tomorrow’s flight has been severe.
I don’t even want to go if it isn’t the Lord’s will, but I feel that it is His will that I go, for many reasons. This has been my prayer as the time for my flight draws nearer: Lord Jesus, be with me as I travel. Be with me when I see extended family with whom I have had some very serious issues in the past. Most of all, please be with me and let your light shine through me as my agnostic granddaughter marries into a Muslim family . . .
This reminder, first in my old daily devotional book and now in this post, that nothing and nobody can snatch me out of God’s hand, has replaced my anxiety with JOY! Hallelujah!
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Linda, we are both so very blessed to know our King! You are a light for your family and you will shine on them, even without them actually knowing what you are doing. I’m so happy you read this post and it touched your soul. I will pray for your safe travels and for God to give you strength during this bit of a stressful family gathering. Amen in Jesus name.
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Happy tears! Thank you so much for your post and for your prayers.
Most of all, I pray that all of the family and friends traveling to Connecticut for this wedding, from California, Washington State, Pennsylvania, and from Pakistan (the groom’s family) will arrive and return safely. I’m not so young anymore, but the young ones, especially those who don’t yet know Christ, need a special hedge of protection.
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I will be praying for everyone.
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Hi Linda, my mom always feared flying and she was always worried about it. I cannot relate at all, but through her I do understand a bit of how you feel. I also suffered from panic attacks in the past. “Be still and know that I am God” came to mind while reading your post. God is and will always protect you and those around you. I pray that your seat has been chosen by our great Captain. I pray that everyone around you are also protected on this flight. I will be praying for you. Jesus loves you Linda.
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Thank you so much, Ann. Since reading this post several hours ago, I have no anxiety! Praise God!
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We thank God!!!
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Thank you for reaching out to Linda, Ann.
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Thank you for sharing!
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Ann, I’m happy you came to my sit. Thank you!
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