If I Had Died

                                

If I had died in the accident, I have a full assurance that I would have gone to heaven. I faced all that I did with a strong sense of peace within my heart because of the assurance given to me through God’s Word regarding eternal security. I don’t have that assurance because I’m the pastor of a church. I also don’t have it because I’ve lived some type of spiritually superior life or flawlessly obeyed a list of divine commands regarding moral standards. The assurance exists within my heart because I have trusted in the fact that Jesus Christ came to this earth for the purpose of dying for my sins as a worthy sacrifice before God. Eternal salvation is a gift given to all of humanity by God and fulfilled through the atoning work of Christ on the cross.

We must first come to a realization that we are born with a sinful nature. It is not that we are compared to one another, but rather that we are compared to the righteousness of God and found severely lacking.

The Bible says:

“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3: 23)

“But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away” (Isaiah 64: 6)

It is with this knowledge that we must realize that a righteous God cannot allow sin to go unpunished. The eternal penalty for sin involves His divine wrath in hell.

The Bible says:

“And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9: 27)

“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23)

God does not leave things there and instead couples His sense of justice with his sense of mercy. He sent His only begotten Son Jesus Christ to die on the cross as a sufficient payment for our sins. Jesus took upon himself our sin that we might receive the forgiveness and righteousness required for eternal life. Jesus provided the sacrifice necessary for our salvation in order for us to be allowed in heaven.

The Bible says:

“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8)

“For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Corinthians 5: 21)

This atoning work of divine forgiveness and eternal life can only be accepted by faith. We must believe in the grace, love, and forgiveness of God in Christ and call upon Jesus for salvation. It is a matter of faith in Him as opposed to faith in our own merit.

The Bible says:

“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved” (Romans 10:9)

“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13)

Thanks for reading through this section. I hope that you have trusted in Jesus as Savior personally and have a full assurance of God’s saving grace. My salvation in Christ is the foundation that provided stability within my heart and mind throughout the ordeal of my accident and the consequent need to overcome a host of injuries and challenges. It is my sincere hope that you have a saving knowledge of the love of God in Christ. The salvation offered to humanity through Jesus Christ is the greatest work of love ever committed by anyone on the behalf of others.