“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8&9) You may be saying to yourself, “Surely, I must have to do something for my salvation? Can the full assurance of Heaven be this easy? Consider what Paul says about simplicity, “But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.” (2Corinthians 11:3)
Again, we must rely on what God says. In the verse above, He declares that we are saved by “grace.” The best definition we have for grace is “unmerited favor.” This means we have found favor with someone, without earning it. If we earned it, it wouldn’t be grace. It would be earnings (salary).
The verse says we receive the grace “through faith.” In other words, when we believe (trust) in what Christ did on the cross for our salvation, we are under the unmerited favor of God’s grace. Even the little bit of faith we exhibit, is a gift from God. We do nothing to earn this grace. This saving grace is not the result of our works (good deeds). If you get to Heaven, you won’t be able to boast that you got there on your own merit.
Full Assurance of Heaven is By Faith, Not Merit
Are you still not sure, then listen to these words from the apostle Peter (words in brackets are mine): “For He [Jesus] was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you who through Him are believers in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. Since you have in obedience to the truth [believed/trusted] purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart, for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God.” (1 Peter 1:20-23)
What does it mean, “…for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God?” When you and I were first born, we were descendants from Adam and therefore, perishable (subject to death). When we become saved (born again), we become descendants of the Holy Spirit and therefore, imperishable (we have eternal life).
Have you ever wondered why Jesus was born of a virgin? The Bible tells us that He was conceived by the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:20). In so doing, Jesus was NOT a descendant of Adam and therefore, not an inheritor of the sin nature. He was the only human ever to live that did not have a sin nature and was free from the temptation of sin. This would qualify Him as the only acceptable, pure sacrifice for sins.
Will You Choose to Believe?
If you desire the full assurance of Heaven, it’s now up to you. Will you choose to believe and trust in the Biblical fact that God sent His Son to pay the penalty (justice satisfied) for your sins by taking the punishment for your sins in His body on the cross of Calvary? If you choose to sincerely believe this, then you are firmly planted in Christ and you can be assured of Heaven.
Without a doubt, you have questions about your own religion and how this decision impacts the things you have been taught even about your belief in Jesus. Are these things correct or false? If the things you were taught are based on the Bible, then you may continue to believe them (unless they are wrong interpretations). A person can always find a few Biblical verses in support of the most ridiculous religious beliefs. The Bible warns us in many places of such people. Remember, the whole Bible has to be able to support true Biblical doctrine. Nevertheless, you have enough information here to begin an awesome relationship with God.
“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.” (John 5:24)
The full assurance of Heaven starts here: Bow down before God and confess that you are a sinner without any meritorious standing before Him. Tell Him that you trust in the finished work of His beloved Son on the cross. Tell Him you trust that the Lord Jesus bore your sins and bore your punishment for those sins. Sincerely thank Him for His kindness (grace) in providing a way for you to escape eternal punishment and, instead, receive His free gift of eternal life.