What Do You Know For Sure?
By George Stroh
February 21, 2011
"These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life." (1 John 5:13)
As the old saying goes; "Only two things in life are certain-- death and taxes". Since I believe that the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and the rapture of His Church will probably happen soon, I'm probably a little more certain about taxes than death! A good question to ask yourself and others is this: "What do you know for sure?"
Although we continue to make plans and live our lives as though we have it all figured out, the truth is that we really don't know very much for sure. Actually, it is prideful to presume that we know anything about the future that God has not revealed to us in His word and; "...God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble." (James 4:6).
The Apostle James warns those who, in their pride, rely upon their own ingenuity, presuming on an unknown future; "Come now, you who say. 'Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.' Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away, Instead, you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.' But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil." (James 4:13-16)
There are some things, however, that we can know for sure because God has revealed them to us in His word, the Bible. One of the marks of a true Christian is that we know for sure that we have eternal life; "These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life." (1 John 5:13). "...but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name." (John 20:31).
What else do we know for sure? That there is one God and that He has revealed Himself and His truth in His word, the Bible. That we are all born with a sin nature and that we are guilty before Him because of our sins. That God's penalty for our sin is death, not just physical death, but eternal separation from God in a literal place called hell. That as sinners, we are incapable of ever achieving God's perfect righteousness on our own. None of our best efforts, good deeds, our baptism, church affiliation, our giving, or anything else we might try to do will satisfy God's righteous judgment that we are guilty before Him.
Thankfully, this we also know for sure; "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life." (John 3:16). Maranatha!
