by Robert Fudge

If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in Him and he in God. 16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.

Our assurance of eternal life with God is based on the nature of God and the veracity of his word. Since he is God he must be true to what he tells us. He tells us that we can know that we have eternal life. However, too often we get hung up on the love of God and carry that to an extreme. We then begin to think that God surely could not cause anyone to actually be lost in hell. God is a God of justice as well as love. It too is part of his nature. He is a God of vengeance which is part of his nature. And there are lots of other things that the Bible tells us is part of his nature. It is the combination of all these that make up the God we serve. In order for man to be saved from his/her sin, all of the nature of God must be dealt with and satisfied.

Sin must be punished by death. Romans 6:23 tells us that the wages of sin is death. Romans 3:23 tells us that we all fail to live up to the glory of God, that is, we sin. The obvious conclusion is that we all deserve (based on the justice of God) to die. We deserve to be eternally lost and separated from God in hell.

God, because of his great love shows his mercy and extends his grace to us by offering his Son as our substitute sacrifice. Thus in Romans 3:26 we read: he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. Thus we see in the death of Jesus the justice of God is met while at the same time we are justified in his sight. We thus are counted as righteous. Our confidence then is based on what God has done (that we could not do) through Jesus. Do I deserve to have eternal life? Of course not, I have sinned. Can I be assured that I do have eternal life? Yes, Jesus died in my place so that God can be just while I am justified. So, I know because I believe God.

Dear God, please give me the faith to believe your word. Give me the will to serve you and become what you would have me to be. Help me to know your love in my life and share it with those around me. Give me patience and help me to be kind. In Jesus name I pray.

May God bless each of us as we live for him.