These things have I written unto you … that ye may know that ye have eternal life. – 1 John 5:13, KJV
A pastor friend received a call to go to the hospital to minister to a dying woman who had been a member of his church for forty years. When he got there, the doctor was leaving her room, very upset. He said to the pastor, “Pastor, please teach your people how to die!” and stalked off. Apparently, she had died in torment, with no assurance of her salvation. The only gospel she had ever heard was probation, not salvation. She believed she could spend her life serving the Lord and still go to hell! She was taught you can never really be sure you’re saved until you stand in heaven. How sad!
Listen: “These things were written that you might know that you have eternal life” (l John 5:13). She didn’t know the difference between her position and her condition. “If any man be in Christ, He is a new creature” (2 Cor. 5:17). That’s your position, but what about your faults? That’s your condition. And that changes daily. Paul says, “It is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.” (Phil. 2:13). The Holy Spirit is working in you to daily bring your condition up to par with your position! Aren’t you glad!
