Is a Christian being presumptuous to say that he or she is “In Jesus Christ eternally” or “I know for sure I am going to Heaven”?
Some of you, dear readers, may have noticed that I usually sign my emails and Blog comments with the statement, “In Jesus Christ eternally.” Some years ago I was challenged by a person with whom I was sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. During the conversation, I made the statement,”I know I have eternal life, because I am in Jesus Christ and know for sure I will go to Heaven when I die.”
“That is quite presumptuous,” said my friend.
The definition of presumptuous is “unwarrantedly or impertinently bold” (Dictionary.com)
My proclamation of assurance is neither unwarranted, impertinent nor am I “worthy,” but my statement is totally accurate and bold because I believe God’s Holy Word that through Jesus Christ alone am I assured..
The moment I made the decision to trust Jesus Christ as my Savior, believing that He is God, that He was crucified in the cross for my sin, that He was buried and rose from that grave (1 Corinthians 15: 1-4) I became a child of God for all eternity and am assured that nothing can sever that eternal bond, sealed by God’s Holy Spirit Himself. (Ephesians 1:13)
“And be found in Him [Jesus Christ], not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith;” Philippians 3:9 NKJV
Jesus Himself said (over and over):
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me hath [has right now] everlasting life.” John 6:47
“These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may KNOW that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.” 1 John 5:13
There are some who will scoff at the idea that we who are Bible believing Christians dare make such a statement; that we are bragging. No! We are humbled and thankful that God loved us so much that He would offer us such a costly Gift absolutely free, which we take or accept by trusting Jesus Christ alone as our Savior.
Therefore when I say I KNOW I have Eternal Life and that I am “In Jesus Christ Eternally,” I am not at all presumptuous but thankfully confident and assured that what Christ has promised, He will deliver. Mine is not self confidence but confidence in Jesus Christ and His Word.
“…..I am not ashamed for I know Whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day.” 2 Timothy 1:12
What do you think? Are you confident and assured of your eternal destination?
If you do not have that assurance, please read, understand and believe this:
Heaven is God’s FREE gift to you.
Notes From A Retired Preacher 
Saying you are ‘saved’ is a sin of presumption in the Catholic church. Seems as if the serpent twists the Word everywhere. That is what happens when we depend on ourselves for anything in order to be saved, vs. looking at God’s reliability, He is perfect, He does not lie, His Word said it, so it is true.
I find it kind of interesting the verse they all use from Heb 6 for losing salvation, the very next week they’re going back up the aisle to repent again. What about it being impossible for them to renew themselves to repentance (by their understanding, they should know, jump out once, you can’t come back :
Their logic is flawed because again, so many words get twisted up and re-parroted out there. Reading your law article again Jack just reminded me of how many times I’ve seen the same exact phrases you’ve used above.
If Christ is one’s righteousness, we are plainly not under the law. The law was not made for a righteous person. Every article on here in one way or another is about law. Maybe instead of lordship (which purposely misleads people into thinking we are ‘separating Lord from Savior’), OR, we ‘accept Him as Savior but not our Lord’, it might better be called law-ship teaching.
Lordship people are still their own Saviors. If Jesus is not their Savior, He is still their Lord, as He is Lord over all. If they don’t figure out that they cannot add one ‘jot or tittle’ to gaining eternal life, nor to keeping it, they will die in their sins, for they have not come to HIM to have life, but they have gone back to the LAW in order to gain/maintain eternal life. Just won’t work. I pray some are just bewitched and will come out from under bondage. For those who are teaching it, they are accursed.
Thank you Jack, I am indeed thankful to Jesus Christ for His free grace and provisions and for giving me opportunities to share His gospel with strangers and friends alike, some have believed and others have rejected it which is very unfortunate since it is free for anyone as a gift but Satan has filled this world with so much religion, atheism, agnosticism and Humanism that folks simply cannot see the need for a personal Savior and carry on with their unbelief along the highway to hell.
If people all over the world could grasp the most powerful yet simplest verse in the bible John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM should not perish but have everlasting life”, then all humanity would be saved as God desires.
Derick,
Welcome back. Good to “see” you again.
As you say, you may not have lots of Bible verses memorized, but you do seem to know and understand the Bible doctrine of salvation by Grace through your faith decision in Jesus Christ alone. In doing so, you are eternally secure in Jesus Christ!!! Wonderful.
Lordship “salvationists” may try to confuse but they can NEVER take that away from you.
Thanks for your comments.
In Jesus Christ eternally, Jack
One thing I have noticed about lordship salvation crowd is that they believe one must repent continually in order to “regain” or maintain salvation, so here is an illustration, I am a sinful christian who persists in willful sin thus resulting in me “jumping out of Jesus hand” but when I repent, then I guess I can always “Jump back to Jesus hand” and this can probably be repeated many times because I always sin yet this beats logic and violates scripture since Jesus himself said that “No one can pluck them out of His hand”, “No one” in this case simply means what it says NO ONE that includes myself, since if it were possible for a christian like myself to JUMP OUT of Jesus hand then Jesus would contradict Himself for He is the Almighty God and NO ONE is more powerful than He and once more God IS NOT A LIAR for His Word is true.
The fact is a backslidden christian is ALWAYS in Jesus hand for He saved us by His grace and not our works.
Hmmmm. Not sure about progress. I just published the commentary summary that includes the “jump” statement — and am not convinced he is any closer to trusting Jesus Christ than he was at the beginning.
Oh dear. Having just read through your more recent post, I see what you mean. 😦
They do seem rather confused…
JanH
JanH,
Hmmmm. Not sure about progress. I just published the commentary summary that includes the “jump” statement — and am not convinced he is any closer to trusting Jesus Christ than he was at the beginning. But I am praying for all of them.
In Jesus Christ eternally, Jack
AOW,
Thanks for dropping in and commenting, I think of and pray for you and Mr. AOW.
I do watch and enjoy your Blog regularly (RSS). You certainly do more than I could under similar circumstances.
In Jesus Christ eternally, Jack
Pingback: Are We Under The Law? | Notes From A Retired Preacher
…the person who made the original “jump” statement was very adamant — yet later he admitted “Well, I just don’t know.”
Scripture with Scripture over and over and still “just don’t know.” What a shame.
Oh, well now, I’m not sure about that. If he started out adamant and you got him to be unsure I’d say you made significant progress! It sounds like you made him think, at least. That’s pretty good!
JanH
Presumptuous?
Hardly.
We who know we are in the Lord’s eternal hands are standing on the promises of our Lord and Savior.
PS: Sorry that I haven’t been around much lately, Jack. Work load and computer issues, as well as caregiving, have been weighing me down. I’m not having a crisis of faith, but I am awfully weary and wish that I had more time to commune with the Lord.
JanH, you bring up a great point..
Who bases theology on what Scripture doesn’t say? Of course the answer is, those who choose not to believe God’s Word as plainly dictated by His Holy Spirit and recorded by holy men of God. (2 Peter 1:21)
It is more than pitiful because the person who made the original “jump” statement was very adamant — yet later he admitted “Well, I just don’t know.”
Scripture with Scripture over and over and still “just don’t know.” What a shame.
In Jesus Christ eternally, Jack
Great breakdown, Jan.
“Yeah, but it does not say that I can’t jump out of His hand.”
It also doesn’t say “no one except them is able to snatch them out of My hand.”
And it says that HE is the one who gives His sheep eternal life so HE would have to take it away. Unless they think they can wrest something out of His hand that He doesn’t want to let go of. But last I heard, He opens and no one can shut, and He shuts and no one can open.
And, if all that wasn’t enough, it is His Father who is GREATER THAN ALL who gives the sheep to Him and no one can snatch them out of the FATHER’S hand either! AND the Father is greater than all. Though I guess if we are going to talk about what the passage DOESN’T say we should add that the Father is greater than all except those recalcitrant sheep who would pluck themselves out of His hand.
But if all THAT weren’t enough THEN they are going to have to get the Holy Spirit to UNSEAL them, based on Ephesians 1:13. And if THAT weren’t enough, the Holy Spirit seals us based on the promise of God. So not only are they going to have to 1) get out of the Son’s hand; 2) get out of the Father’s hand, who gave them to the Son in the first place; 3) get the Holy Spirit to unseal them; they are also going to have to 4) get God to BREAK HIS OWN PROMISE.
Not only are they going against God’s power, they are going against His character too!! These guys are taking on the power and character of the whole Trinity here!!
Good luck with that!!!
JanH
Yes, Pearl,
Some have great imaginations about they can get out of their guaranteed, eternal, sealed forever salvation.
I hate to admit that I finally gave up with those poor souls.
It was an interesting but pitiful conversation, though. Will post soon.
In Christ eternally, Jack
I had a conversation with someone not too long ago who used the very same argument, only with a slightly more creative illustration.
Bruce, thanks.. Great comment.
In the running commentary I had with some folks yesterday on FB (see answer to Pearl above), the person who posted the original article answered, after I quoted John 10:27-30, “Yeah, but it does not say that I can’t jump out of His hand.” At first I thought he was joking but his later comments proved he and some of his friends were seriously uncertain.
I feel so sorry for those who live in such fear of losing their “salvation” in spite of God’s clear Word to the contrary. Instead they should be trusting in Jesus Christ alone for salvation and then living the Christian life through God’s Grace FREE of doubt and worry.
In Jesus Christ eternally, Jack
Thanks, Pastor Jack, for another great post! I sure appreciate all of the wonderful Scriptures cited on assurance of salvation. I am so glad that I was not exposed to lordship faith teaching until years after I was saved, so that false doctrine was not allowed to taint my assurance.
As I said on another of your blogs re. the freedom that comes from living in God’s grace:
I have been a believer in Christ Jesus for over 45 years and I can honestly say that since becoming saved I have never had a moment of doubt of my salvation because I’m not trusting in my own works but in Christ’s finished work on my behalf (Eph. 2:8-9, Titus 3:5, John 3:16, 18). What joy and confidence to live under complete assurance of salvation in Christ Jesus. And obedience to the Lord flows out of my love for him, not because I’m driven by a fear that I might not do enough!
P.S. I love John 10:27-30 that promises believers that they are kept in the loving grasp of the Father and the Son (no one can snatch them away).
JanH,
Your point is THE point.. the phrase usually comes from “religious” folks who have no assurance at all and may have determined in their mind to be a “disciple” of Christ but never trusted Christ to be their SAVIOR.. Theirs is just a works based religion — which can never save.
Just today I was commenting back and forth with an FB “friend” and several others entered in to the conversation.
His original premise was “Must A Christian keep the law?” His and others’ conclusion was “Yes,” despite scripture after scripture which proves “NO.”
It is pitiful how folks take the words of teachers and pastors without studying Scripture for answers.
I have copied all the comments and will edit them for brevity and post here. I am saddened to see so many intelligent folks swallow the lie.
In Jesus Christ eternally, Jack
That is very interesting, Jack.
It’s been a long time since I have heard that particular complaint but I know it still exists. It comes from the idea that our eternal salvation is contingent on something WE must do. From that vantage point, it would be correct to say it is arrogant or presumptuous to be assured of heaven (not to mention flat wrong). But our hope is not in ourselves or anything we must or even could do. It is solely in Christ and what HE has done for us! So our hope is worthy of full assurance indeed!
“For I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.” 2 Timothy 1:12.
JanH
Thanks Pearl,
Awesome is right. It would almost be unbelievable had not God made His Promise in His Word and sealed His Promise with His Holy Spirit indwelling permanently every believer..
It IS believable and it IS eternal.
In Jesus Christ eternally, Jack
Excellent post, Jack. Merely taking Him at His Word. Not by anything I have done, or DO, but just believe and thank Him.
As Maj. Thomas said (this is a paraphrase): don’t ever congratulate some one on their faith. God doesn’t deserve that kind of an insult. If a man told you he was traveling all over the U.S. by car, you may say “How nice. What kind of car?” and then he shows you a Pinto, all beat up, with smooth tires, then you would be right to say “I congratulate you on your faith!” But, we don’t seem to see the error when we call somebody a “man of great faith”. What is that saying about our God? Is He that small? All faith does is LET God do that which He said He would do: redeem you, and (by your continued act of faith – which is merely believing Him, taking Him at His Word, day by day) He will also be the Source of your activity.
Awesome!