FROM DEATH INTO LIFE — THE ASSURANCE OF THE BELIEVER
Jesus Christ has declared: “Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not come under judgment. Indeed, he has passed from death to life.”John 5:24–27
This is a truth of tremendous hope. Those who believe in Jesus Christ are not waiting for eternal life to begin in the future. They have already received it. Through faith in Christ, they have passed from death into life. The moment a person believes in Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, a divine work takes place. They are delivered from the power of darkness and brought into the Kingdom of God’s beloved Son.
It has been stated: “Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: in whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins.”
Jesus Christ did not come merely to improve fallen humanity. He came to provide a new creation. Through His sinless life, substitutionary death, and resurrection, Christ accomplished everything necessary for redemption. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
The believer has been born again into a new life—a life that is more than endless existence. It is fellowship with Almighty God, His righteousness, His peace, and His presence. Jesus said: “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” John 10:10
The believer’s assurance rests not in human effort, but in what Jesus Christ has accomplished. Jesus became the substitute for sin and bore the judgment that our sin deserved.“The Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”Isaiah 53:6. Jesus did not merely make salvation possible—He accomplished redemption.
Therefore, acceptance with the Father is not earned through striving, performance, or religious works. It is received through faith in Jesus Christ. “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me.”John 14:6
The glory of the New Covenant is this: The believer is in Christ, and Christ is in the believer. Jesus said: “At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.” John 14:20
Through the Holy Spirit, Christ’s life is at work within the believer therefore, we are to know that:
- His life is our source.
- His righteousness is our standing.
- His peace is our peace.
- His access to the Father is our access.
Therefore, the struggling believer must not measure Almighty God’s faithfulness by personal feelings or circumstances. The foundation of salvation is not how strong the believer feels, but how faithful Jesus Christ is. The believer has passed from death into life.
Yet this assurance must never lead to complacency. Jesus calls His disciples to continue, abide, remain, watch, and endure. “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed.”John 8:31
And: “Abide in Me, and I in you… for without Me ye can do nothing.” John 15:4–5. The believer’s life is therefore not about trusting in a past experience while neglecting Christ in the present. It is a living relationship with Him. Hold fast to Jesus. Continue in His Word. Walk in the Holy Spirit. Abide in Him.
The believer’s hope does not rest in human perfection. It rests in the perfect work of a perfect Saviour; therefore:
- If your faith feels weak, look again to Jesus.
- If circumstances are overwhelming you, look again to Jesus.
- If failure has brought discouragement in your life, look again to Jesus.
- If condemnation is trying to silence your faith walk, look again to the Cross.
Jesus Christ has not changed. His finished work has not changed. His Word has not changed. So do not give up. Keep coming to Jesus. Keep trusting Jesus. Keep abiding in Jesus.
The believer has been brought from death into life, from darkness into light, from condemnation into acceptance, and from separation into fellowship with the Father. The call is not to desperately strive to obtain the life Christ has already given, but to live from that life. “He that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.”Matthew 24:13