Does God want you to be saved? Let Him speak for Himself: He is not willing that any should perish. Nor does He want His children anxious about whether they still belong to Him, any more than a loving father would take back a cherished gift every time his son slipped up. Salvation is an act of God from beginning to end. He draws us, convicts us of sin, points us to Christ, and changes our nature, so that we crave the things of the Spirit and are troubled by the things of the flesh. Assurance doesn’t come from a feeling or a faded memory. It shows in the present: faith in Christ alone, obedience that flows from love rather than fear, repentance that leaves no regret, honest confession, love for God’s people, a pure life, and a declining pattern of willful sin. The Holy Spirit keeps shaking the pan and picking out what doesn’t belong, and like a patient father pulling a young skier back around, He keeps bringing you the rope. Stop and consider how far He has already brought you, because it wasn’t the flesh or the devil that did it.
Scripture: 2 Peter: 3:9, 1 John: 5:13, 2 Corinthians: 7:10
