Assurance of Eternal Life
By Capazin Thornton
What I am most thankful for is having a personal relationship with God and having assurance of eternal life! Everything else pivots around this. More than a wish, hope, dream, or philosophy, Christians are given clear assurance of eternal life.
Assurance of Eternal Life
The Scriptures give assurance of eternal life
John was the disciple/apostle closest to Jesus. John wrote the Gospel and three letters (1 John, 2 John, 3 John) and The Revelation. John writes about the eternal Son of God who became flesh and dwelt among us, died for our sins, rose again on the third day, and is alive forevermore. And John wrote 1 John specifically to give assurance of eternal life to those “who believe in the name of the Son of God.” (John 1:1, 14; Rev 1:18; 1 Jn 5:13)
John also wrote 1 John to expose false prophets—deceitful liars, having the spirit of antichrist. Antichrist means against Christ as well as in place of Christ. In John’s day, false prophets left the church and went out into the world advancing their false teachings. They denied Jesus the Christ. They denied the Father and the Son.
Today’s world is full of religious ideologies, philosophies, and traditions of men that deny the Father and His Son. Some promote a god that can only be described as a depraved, murderous, vengeful despot. This is not the God of the Bible. And these antichrist ideologies are leading multitudes down a path to eternal destruction. (Mt 7:13)
Before He was crucified, Jesus took John, John’s brother James, and Peter to a high mountain where He was transformed before them into His glorious pre-incarnate self and spoke with Moses and Elijah. Peter, James and John heard the voice out of a bright cloud that overshadowed them declare, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!” (Mt 17:1-5; 1 John 1:1)
Later, they were eyewitnesses to Jesus’ crucifixion. Three days later, after Jesus’ resurrection, they heard, saw, and touched Jesus, the “Word of life,” the “eternal life.”
John later wrote to reveal the true nature of God: “God is light and in Him is no darkness at all” and “God is love.” (1 John 1:1, 5; 4:8)
All this was written so that we might personally know and worship the only true God; that we might “believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing we may have life in His name.” (John 20:31)
The inner witness gives assurance of eternal life
Christ believers have another even more personal assurance of eternal life: “He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself…” (1 John 5:10)
For those who want Christians to compartmentalize our life, to not talk about Jesus in the workplace, to leave our “religion” at home, I have one word for you: Impossible! We are one with Christ. His life—eternal life, perpetual life—is in us.
For those of you who want us to renounce Christ and worship a god that neither we nor our fathers have known, that too is impossible. The God of the Bible (Yahweh) has forgiven our sins and declared us righteous. He has supernaturally transformed our hearts. He is forever our God and Father. His Spirit is our constant companion and inner witness that we are God’s children. (Deut 6:4; Rom 8:16)
Christ is our assurance of eternal life
Every person on the planet will spend eternity somewhere—either with God or without Him. The moment we die, our fate is forever sealed.
Those without Christ will never see the light of day again. They will never again breathe fresh air or smell a rose. They will never again lie on the beach and bask in the sun. They will never again feel the rain or see a rainbow. They will never laugh, sing, dance, love or experience pleasure again—ever! Worse yet, they will spend eternity in a fiery hell intended for the devil and demons—not people. (Mt 25:41)
In a world where one can be here one moment and gone the next, it makes no sense to play Russian roulette with your eternal destiny. Won’t you receive Jesus Christ now? He is the only assurance of eternal life.
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Capazin Thornton is a Christian speaker, Bible teacher, and author in Orange County, California.
