I write these things to you who believe in the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. (1 John 5:13, ESV)
When you stand over a four-foot putt, how certain are you that it will go in? Let’s say it is a level putt and you can keep it in the hole as you line it up. Pretty confident?
The trouble is that most putts aren’t level and straight. They’re uphill, downhill, and sidehill. With all these slopes factored in, even the tour professionals aren’t as good as you think. Tour pros make only 91% of putts from four feet and 80% from five feet. At 10 feet, that percentage is cut in half. Yes, only 40% of the putts from 10 feet are made by the best players in the world. There is a lot of missing going on out there!
Why am I bringing you information that you could easily look up on the internet? Well, I started researching these statistics after a recent run of questions in our local Links Fellowships. Several times guys have voiced concern that something is missing in their life and they will miss out on heaven when they die. The questions have come in a variety of forms but can best be summarized by, “How can I know for sure that I am saved?”
This is a sincere question we can have when doubts creep in. We begin to confuse our salvation with our sanctification. When this happens, it is hard to be assured that we’re going to heaven, because we become focused on our works instead of Christ’s. But this isn’t the gospel.
When it comes to salvation, there is nothing more to do than what Christ has done, except to believe in him.If you read 1 Corinthians 15, you will find the gospel clearly explained. It’s all about what Jesus has done: his life, death, burial, and resurrection to secure our salvation. We can all agree that Paul put forth a lot of effort after his conversion, but he reiterated that Jesus did everything required to blaze our path to heaven. That was true for Paul, who wrote of himself, “I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.” So we can be confident that it is also true for us.
As our verse for today indicates, God does not want us to wonder if or hope that we are saved. We can know. If you believe that you were separated from God by your sin, if you have repented of your sins, and believed in the person and work of Jesus Christ, then you can know for sure you will be in heaven with him. His work regarding the certainty of salvation was planned before the creation of the world and it was accomplished by Jesus himself, who said: “It is finished!” When it comes to salvation, there is nothing more to do than what Christ has done, except to believe in him.
The book of 1 John is a great comfort to me on this topic and I trust it will be for you as well. With that in mind, I would encourage you today, perhaps even right now, to read all of 1 John if you find your mind focusing on the issue of assurance.
We began with the question of your certainty while standing over a four-foot putt. I will close with another question: Have you ever missed a ¼-inch putt? All your sins, all of them, are covered by the blood of Jesus. Your eternal security is as certain as that ¼-inch tap-in. You can close your eyes tonight, friend, and know that you are “secure for sure.”
—
Marty Jacobus
February 17, 2021
Copyright 2021 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.