I Am God's Child

One day Pastor Jim was riding a car with a young man named Bill. Jim asked him a very personal question. "Bill, do you know for sure that you are on your way to heaven?"

Bill pulled the car over to the side of the road and stopped! He looked at Pastor Jim and said, "That's exactly why I wanted to see you! I cannot go on with my Christian life unless I know for sure that I am saved."

"How do you expect to find out?" Jim asked.

"Well, I want some definite proof. Something that I cannot be mistaken about. Some people have experienced tremendous joy when they received Christ into their lives. I have been seeking a similar experience since I accepted Christ but I have never found it."

Pastor Jim responded, "Having an experience is one thing, but putting personal trust in Jesus Christ is another! Suppose that when you invited Jesus Christ into your life, you felt very happy. Would you then be sure that you were saved?"

"I think so," Bill replied.

The Pastor continued, "Well, suppose you depended upon that happy experience for the rest of your life and then died. Our enemy Satan meets you and tells you that you are not a Christian and now it is too late to be saved. How would you reply? Would you tell him that you know you are a Christian because you had a happy emotional experience years before?"

"I don't think so," he answered thoughtfully. "Depending on feelings that come and go would not be enough."

"What would be enough?" Jim said quickly.

"Well, if I could get some definite confirmation in a vision or dream, or message from an angel, then I would be sure that I am a child of God."

"Suppose," Pastor Jim continued, "that you received a message from a glorious angel, and he told you that your sins were forgiven and you had a home in heaven. Do you think that would be enough to depend upon?"

"Yes, I think it would. An angel should know the truth and give me the assurance that I need!"

"But suppose, again, that you died and Satan came to you saying, 'I was the angel that appeared to you. I deceived you and look where you are now!' What would you say to him then?"

Bill thought for a moment and then, with a frown, said,"You are right. Even the word of an angel would not make me sure of my salvation."

"Listen to me closely," Jim said. "God has given us a basis for assurance that is better than any kind of feeling or experience. It is more dependable than the voice of an angel. God has put in place two solid facts. First, He has given you His own Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to die for your sins and to give you eternal life, and, secondly, His own Word, the Bible gives us assurance. Remember that when you placed your trust in Jesus Christ all your sins were forgiven. Peter said in Acts 10:43, 'To Him (that is Jesus Christ) all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission (or, forgiveness) of sins.' Bill, have you believed in Him? Have you placed your trust in Christ and invited Him into your life?"

"Yes, I definitely have," replied Bill.

Opening his Bible, Pastor Jim pointed to First John 5:11-13 and had Bill read, "And this is the testimony: that God HAS GIVENus eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who HASthe Son of God HASlife; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may KNOWthat you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God."

"Bill, have you received the Son of God? Is He your possession?"

Bill responded, "Yes, I have believed in His name. I have received Him into my life."

"Then notice what God's Word says," Pastor Jim read, "He who HASthe Son HASlife... These things I have written...that you may KNOWthat you have eternal life." "Isn't the fact of God's assurance enough to depend upon? It is a word straight from God's heart to your heart. Believe what He has said here in His Word! He is far more dependable than an angel or feelings, isn't He?"

"My dear friend, bow your head and tell God that you receive assurance on His terms. You know you were a sinner. You know that you agreed with God about your sins and confessed them. You know you invited the Lord Jesus Christ into your life. Now, you have read here in God's Word that you have as your possession eternal life because you have the Son."

Bill looked intently at Pastor Jim. He was deeply stirred. Then he began to pray and thank God for his salvation, and for the assurance that was his based upon the truth of God's Word.

Suddenly he looked up and said, "It's wonderful! I know that I am God's child. I have His assurance! Thank you Pastor Jim. Thank you!"

The next Sunday evening, before Pastor Jim spoke, Bill told his story. The assurance that he had sought so long was his when he believed the message of God's Word about what Jesus had done to save sinners. He knew he was God's child based upon faith in what Jesus had done and what God had stated clearly in His Word.