1 John 5:9-13 (NIV)
"We accept man's testimony, but God's testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which He has given about His Son. Anyone who believes in the Son of God has this testimony in his heart. Anyone who does not believe God has made Him out to be a liar, because he has not believed the testimony God has given about His Son. And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life."

There are today many Christians who walk the road of life lacking the assurance that they are saved. Many such people often fall into the trap of obeying God in the hope that He will love them enough to want to give them the gift of salvation. Their good deeds are often not the fruit of the assurance of personal salvation, but the root. They do not truly see that working for salvation is futile. And they make God look like a liar, for while He provides salvation as a gift, they still try to work for it as though it was something to be earned.

God has witnessed to us the way to salvation. And that is through His Son Jesus. Those who believe on Him have eternal life. The passage does not say "maybe will have" or "should have." It says the believer possesses eternal life now. It is not an uncertain thing, but a sure thing. And this assurance helps the believer to live a life that is pleasing to God.

The apostle John wrote this so that we as Christians may know in our hearts and minds that eternal life is ours now since we have accepted Jesus Christ by faith. Such an assurance supplies the basis for joyful prayer and fellowship with one another, and provides us with the knowledge that God loves us. A knowledge that tells us we do not have to work in order for God to save us. God already wants to save us. All we must do is accept His gift of salvation. We cannot work for this or take the smallest bit of credit for it. All this is possible solely by the grace of God.

May the Lord help us to place our trust in Him so that we may be sure of our personal salvation today.