"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in His shall not persish but have everlasting life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 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. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God."
I've mentioned before the often used scripture from John 3:16. In fact, if I were to provide a comment, I'd say it was a often "overused" scripture. The funny thing about this vital assuance of our salvation, is that most people often forget the scriptures that come AFTER that 16th verse. For it is here that we find the very assurance for our belief. This assurance came in very handy for me with the recent passing of my mother. What was my assurance that my mom knew Jesus as her Lord and savior and, ultimately, was welcomed by our Lord into her eternity with him? Because she would tell me that she believed!
That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture says, " Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame."
Romans 10: 9-11 NKJV
People will ask me how I know that my mother was welcomed by our loving God into her eternity with him. In this I am assured. How do I know this? Because it was my mother who, years ago, made a point to speak into her sons heart the truth that God wanted me to hear. This was the very same truth that my mom carried with her through her life. It is also where I get my assurance that, not only is my mother in eternity with our Lord, but that I will see her again the day my race comes to its end. It is in Romans 10:9 that the apostle Paul lays out his case for the Lords salvation. After all, wasn't it that persecutor of the early church, Saul of Tarsus, who himself confessed Jesus upon his experience on the road to Damascus? Consequently, this man Saul became one of the greatest defenders of the faith the world has ever known. I've heard some people refer to that moment they were "saved" and confessed the Lord as their savior as their "Damascus Road" moment. Whatever one chooses to call it, it is here where our hearts hopefully began to change. As Paul tells us, it is with our hearts that we believe in the Lord Jesus, and with our mouths we confess him as Lord. I'm thinking this would be the process one goes through, for someone must first "believe" in their hearts before actually taking the step of proclaiming what it is they believe. I haven't seen too many people proclaiming that they believe in something before they know it in their own hearts, but there could be exceptions of course.
I remember asking my mom as I was growing up just how she knew that God was there and that he would listen to me. I think she loved giving this response to her youngest son, at least it seemed that way. To this question, my mom would smile and tell me, "I just know that I know." That was her assurance.
~Scott~
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