How can we have assurance that we have Eternal life?
Orientation
Assurance of eternal life can feel distant if we think it's a reward for our religious striving or performance.
- Assurance is not built on your feelings, law-keeping, or effort.
- It is the present possession of everyone who believes the Gospel of grace.
- To seek assurance elsewhere undermines God's justice and Christ's sufficiency.
Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. (Romans 3:28)
— Romans 3:28
Clarification
Assurance is not automatic if we neglect the Gospel or are moved away from it by other teachings.
- Moving away from the Gospel leads to loss of assurance, fruitlessness, and deception.
- Guarding our crown means holding fast to the Gospel hope, not adding to it.
- False teachings like asceticism or angel worship seek to disqualify us from enjoying our inheritance.
Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, And not holding the Head, from which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God. (Colossians 2:18-19)
— Colossians 2:18-19
Structure
Assurance is grounded in the biblical logic of justification, where Christ is our righteousness, sanctification, and reward.
- Justification by faith declares us righteous with Christ's own righteousness.
- Sanctification is not a process we perform, but a Person we have received.
- Our reward and inheritance is Christ Himself, given freely.
But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: (1 Corinthians 1:30)
— 1 Corinthians 1:30
Weight-Bearing Prose
Assurance flows from understanding the Gospel of grace, which is the power of God unto salvation. This Gospel reveals God’s righteousness ‘from faith to faith.’ God remains perfectly just while justifying the ungodly because Christ fulfilled all righteousness. This silences Satan’s accusations against God’s character. Justification by faith apart from law-keeping is the foundation. Christ is our sanctification—holiness is a Person, not a procedure. Christ is also our reward and inheritance; He is the abundant entrance into the kingdom. The Gospel performs the work of discipleship as we abide in Christ and His word. This produces fruitfulness in the knowledge of Jesus Christ, which grants discernment to guard against deceptive philosophies. Our identity is as children and heirs, not slaves. The Gospel answers every accusation by pointing to our union with Christ. His righteousness secures our salvation, granting boldness to approach God and face judgment without fear.
Integration
Your assurance is not in your grip, but in God’s grace. It rests on Christ’s finished work, not your fluctuating performance. You are a child and an heir, complete in Him. The same Gospel that saved you now sustains you and will bring you home. There is no pressure to advance or earn a higher standing. Christ is your all. Abiding in Him is simply resting in what is already true. Let the truth that you are justified, sanctified, and rewarded in Christ alone be your landing place and your peace. He furnishes everything, including the confidence you seek.